Past Revisited
by Lashana Inferno
Summary: Three years have passed since Erica and Kaeli went their separate ways. Now, Kaeli's back in civilization. With evil afoot, a dragon hiding in the house, a boyfriend, a cat, and Halloween fast approaching, will the girls ever figure out what's going on?
1. Reminiscing and foolish choices

Lashana owns everything except Draco. She wishes she owned Draco, however, because she's certain she could convince him to 'singe' her office building.

****

Past revisited

Chapter one : Reminiscing and foolish choices

"That'll be thirty-two seventy five please." Forcing a smile onto her face, Erica accepted the payment graciously and quickly rang up the shoppers receipt, sliding it into the bag before handing it over the counter. "Blessed be." _Oh, I hope that's the last person today, I'm beat._

A sigh left her as she watched the shopper leave, and she soundlessly walked out from behind the counter and went to flip the overly cheerful sign of '_C'mon in! We're open!_ ' to a very relieving '_We're sorry, we're closed_ '_._ Taking a moment to inhale the scent of sandalwood that filled the store, she turned and surveyed her little domain, remembering her first day here.

In truth, she had been hunting for a summer job, hoping to make enough money to move away from her parents before they drove her to the brink of madness. Their opinion of her had dropped after she had vanished for the month that she had been whisked back in time, returning with no explanation for her disappearance. And then to add insult to injury, she had missed all her finals and had been forced to redo an entire year of high school. Pure torture. It had been sheer luck that she had managed to come to this city to visit her aunt, who had always been sympathetic to her when it came to her life at home.

Thus it was, that after firmly telling herself that she would _not_ take a job at a fast food joint, she had discovered that if she wanted a job, that would be her only recourse. She had been near depression when she wandered into this cozy little store, drawn by curiosity, and perhaps, a bit of fate. 

From the outside, it looked rather unimportant, only a weather-beaten sign hung over a beautiful oak door with stainglass windows. On either side were usual store windows that displayed books and cloaks and crystals. But the moment one stepped into the building, the store was far from unnoticeable. 

Rows of shelves lined the walls, each bay filled to the brim with items. Most were books, though there were the few shelves that held only statues or larger crystals. A free-standing shelf was placed perpendicular to the wall, so that from the register, one could easily see the entire store with minimal effort. More shelves stood behind the counter, though the items there were much more expensive, and the counter itself was a display case for jewellery ranging from simple rings to the most elegant of amulets.

She had stood there, stunned. In awe of a store that she had never fully noticed before. That day, there had been the scent of cinnamon in the air, the aromatic smell wafting from the incense stick that was placed behind the check out counter, framed by three simple tea lights that flickered brightly, as if the flames were playing with the wisps of smoke from the incense. 

It was the store of her dreams. A bonified and true occult store. Not one that played to people's misconceptions of the art of Wicca, or one that made it's earnings from lynching tourists. No, this was the real thing. She had known then, that she _belonged_ there.

That was when she had met Maeve. The woman had moved with a grace that belied her age, gracefully stepping out of the back room and moving to greet her. Her long silver-grey hair had been tied back with a pewter clip, the intricate Celtic designs catching the light as she had turned to call back into the depths of the store, telling another that she had a customer. An extravagant Celtic amulet hung around her neck, accenting the two Celtic earrings she wore, and the numerous rings that adorned her hands. Along with those, she wore a simple dress that flowed to her ankles, the dark green cotton material looking almost black, a stark contrast to the thick white knitted shawl that she wore over her shoulders. It was her eyes that had shocked Erica, the warm vibrant hazel seeming to have flecks of gold and amber embedded into them that danced with good nature as she had reached out to touch her cheek, smiling kindly.

"I've been waiting for you."

Those five words had been the start of a fantastic friendship, and an even greater year of learning. Under Maeve's patient tutelage, she had learned everything she needed to become a full time staff member of the store, and she had also learned the finer arts of being a shamaness. It hadn't surprised Erica in the slightest when Maeve had told her that she was the last of a long line of shamans, and that she had been waiting for a suitable apprentice for years...and that she had chosen Erica, as that apprentice.

Her mastering of magicks had been shaky when she had first come here. Now, while not as strong as Rachel had been, she was powerful in her own right, powerful enough to call upon the elements of nature and bend them to her will if she so desired. She imagined that when she was elderly, she would have the same energy that resonated from her as Maeve had, a seeming glow that brought about feelings of calmness and friendship. But that same glow could turn into an inferno at the slightest instant if it was required, burning away anyone foolish enough to try to attack or harm.

Unfortunately, that power couldn't change the ways of the human body. The magicks that could call upon storms, heal others, draw good fortune and happiness, was helpless against the frailty of age. That had been the worst day of her life, coming into work to learn from a waiting lawyer that Maeve had died in her sleep. The causes were natural, he had told her, though that had done little to sooth her. The shock that had followed had nearly caused her to faint. Maeve, caring Maeve that had been like her grandmother, had left everything... to Erica. The store, her savings - which were considerably larger than anything Erica could have imagined - her estate, even her home, were now all in Erica's name.

That had been a year ago. In total, three full years since her adventure. Three years since she had said goodbye to her best friend, and left her under the care of a wise dragon. 

Sighing at the memories, Erica shook her thoughts back to the present and stepped away from the door, lightly running her fingers across one of the display tables before wandering over to a shelf and re-arranging some disorganized books. Light reflected off the little circlet of silver that she wore on her left hand, and she frowned a little as she stared at it, remembering the one who had given it to her. _It was supposed to provide a link between worlds... but I've never been able to go back...._

"Miss Johnston?"

"Tony, I've told you a thousand times, call me Erica." She turned from the shelves to look at her assistant as he walked over to her, inwardly sighing as she gazed at the teen. He was just hitting that stage of growth where he was like a walking bottomless pit of uncoordinated energy, a late bloomer, she figured, considering that he was seventeen. His constantly tousled dirty-blond hair hung in front of deep brown eyes and curled around his ears, giving him a boyish appearance that was accented by the baggy jeans and loose t-shirt he wore. _I swear, one day, those jeans are just gonna slide right off of him._

"Right. Erica." He shifted a little and reached up to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly, lowering his gaze to the floor as he did so in an attempt to hide the faint blush that was colouring his cheeks. "I finished inventory in the back. You need help with anything else?"

"No. You're free to take off," she murmured distractedly as she turned back to the books. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. And please, don't skip anymore classes."

"Sure, Miss Johnst-- er... I mean, Erica." He grimaced at how stupid he sounded and inwardly whacked himself as he turned and went to retrieve his backpack and jean jacket from behind the counter, glancing back at her when she let out a soft yelp. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." Wincing, she stuck her bleeding finger into her mouth and sucked on it, grimacing at the metallic taste yet relieved that the painful stinging had lessened. "Just another cut. This hasn't been my week."

"That bad, huh?"

"Not bad. Just annoying. Blew a fuse in the fusebox on monday for no reason, couldn't find my car keys on Tuesday, flat tire on Wednesday, my favourite plant died this morning..." She peered at the cut on her finger for a moment before turning to get a Band-Aid from the junk drawer behind the counter. "I'm just really looking forward to Sunday now. A day off will do me lots of good."

Tony frowned at her a bit before edging closer. "I could watch the store... if you wanted the entire weekend off."

"By yourself? For an entire day?" She quirked an eyebrow at him and smiled. "Sorry kiddo, but you're not ready for that yet. You're still learning. Not only how to run the store, but how to keep your own magicks from going haywire when you're stressed. I don't want a repeat of the time your teacher came in here to find you playing hookie."

He grimaced at the reminder and glanced away, remembering how panicked he had been, and how the entire shelf of books had pulled from the wall and toppled, nearly crushing his math teacher. "It only happened once."

"Yes. I know. But you're still learning control." Once the Band-Aid was firmly wrapped around her finger, she reached out and bodily turned him around, pushing him towards the door. "Now get going, it gets dark out quickly this time of year and I know you don't want your folks to worry, right?"

"Uh... right. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Johnston!"

"Kids," she chuckled, watching him bolt through the door and take off down the street. _Was I ever that young? Maybe, it's been such a trying three years that I can't remember much of anything past that little adventure..._ A twinge of pain made her glance down at her finger in annoyance, wondering how a simple paper cut could hurt so much. _With the luck I've been having lately, it'll probably get infected.... Oh, quit worrying, 'Rica. Just go home, have a nice long bath, eat some chocolate and go have a nice long sleep._ Nodding to herself in agreement with her inner pep talk, she did a final check of the back room, made sure the back door was locked, then grabbed her things and headed out to her car. 

~*~

'Kiddo'? _Aw man, she thinks I'm just a punk kid..._ Tony grumbled to himself as he slowed to a walk and shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets, shoulders hunched as he headed up Watson Avenue, a short cut home. True, he was just seventeen while she was twenty two, but wasn't like it was that much of an age difference. He'd be graduating from high school in a little over a year, and then he'd be in college or something, maybe then she'd be interested. _Nah, she'd still think I was just a kid. Especially since I can't even keep full control of these stupid magicks of mine. Why, oh why, did my father have to be descended from a warlock anyway?!_

He shifted his backpack where it was slung over his right shoulder, feeling a heavy weight bang into his back as he did so. _I'll show her what a 'kid' can do. Then, maybe she'll notice me._ A grin spread over his lips at the prospect, and he immediately broke into a full run again, pounding down the street and cutting through a neighbour's yard.

"Anthony? Is that you?"

The call came from the kitchen as he banged the front door open, and he rolled his eyes in response. "Yeah, mom."

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour, sweetheart."

"Yeah yeah." Muttering under his breath, he shucked out of his runners and left them in the middle of the entrance before heading upstairs, taking the steps two at a time as he did so. Once in the seclusion of his room, he dumped his bag onto his bed and wriggled out of his jacket, tossing it onto a pile of clothes in the corner as he kicked books and other clothes aside, clearing a space on the floor. 

Excited, he tore open his bag and upended it, letting the book, five candles and a golden eagle's feather drop onto his rumpled comforter. _Okay, now I have to do this just right..._ A quick dig through his desk drawers awarded him with a lighter, and he knelt to place the five candles on the floor in a triangle shape, joining them together by tracing the lines of a pentagram on the floor with chalk before lighting them and snatching the book and feather. Hands shaking, he stepped into the centre of the star and opened the book where he had marked it that afternoon, reading through the spell once before steeling himself. _If this works, then I'll have perfect mastery of my magicks, **and** I'll be equal to Erica! _

~*~

Unknown to the lovestruck teen, a dark presence had taken quite an interest in his little endeavour to become stronger. In truth, it had been something the presence had tried to become while he had been alive ; though that achievement had been snatched away from him by that red haired bitch. Unrightfully stolen and given to another! Had the presence had a physical form, it would have been shaking with rage, but as it was, all it could manage to do was make the room he was observing grow colder by a degree or two. 

But the boy. The boy worked with the witch. If he could turn the boy to his wishes, then perhaps his revenge could be served out. _Better yet_, the presence mused to itself,_ if I can take over this child, I can deliver my justice... personally.... _

~*~

Tony frowned as he finished the last passage of the incantation, looking around him curiously for a moment before cursing. He didn't feel any different. In fact, he felt like plain old Tony. _Great. I can't even get a basic spell to work right... _

On the contrary, young magician. I'd say it worked rather well.

"W-who are you?" The teen spun in a circle, trying to see the source of the voice. It sounded way to smug, and slightly sinister. "_Where _are you?"

__

That doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm here to help you.

"Help me?"

__

Of course. You want power, don't you? To impress your lady friend? The voice whispered, almost seductively. _I can help you gain that which you seek._

Despite his better judgement, Tony was intrigued. "....how?"

__

You need guidance. True guidance. From someone who knows your true potential...

"And that would be you?"

__

Who better? I can sense the power in you boy, you can do great things... great things indeed. We may be of use to each other. It trailed off in an amused whisper again. _Of course, if you'd rather be thought of as a child, as a boy, instead of a man, I shall not interfere._

Feeling the presence seemingly pull away, Tony lunged to his feet, knocking a candle over and stepping out of the protection of the pentagram. "Wait! Don't go!"

There was an unearthly chuckle then, and the sense of something pressing down on his thoughts. _Oh, I'm not going anywhere, young mage... no where at all..._

Panic welled up in him as Tony realised his mistake, and he quickly went through the teachings that Erica had shown him to focus his thoughts and energy onto a single task. This time, it was the task of keeping whatever he had called out of his mind and body. He could feel it, all around him, like a cold evil that seeked to become one with him, to own him as it's own. For one terrifying moment, he feared that it would win, but then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the presence vanished, leaving him gasping and trembling in the middle of his room. _Oh my god.... What **was** that?!_


	2. Timeless friendship

Lashana owns everything except Draco. She wishes she owned Draco, however, because she's certain she could convince him to 'singe' her office building.

****

Past revisited

Chapter two: Timeless friendship

A loud shriek of static jarred Erica out of a peaceful sleep the next morning, and she groaned as she blearily rose her face from the pillow and brought a fist down onto her alarm clock, aiming for the snooze button. After trying to turn the thing off four times and failing miserably, she settled for grabbing the clock and ripping the cord out of the wall, glaring at it in annoyance as she dropped it onto the floor and rolled onto her back. _Six am.... Lords above, I'm sooo tired...._

Yawning loudly, she slowly forced herself out of her warm bed and shuffled into the bathroom, blinking at her reflection in the mirror for a moment before grumbling and moving to turn on the taps for the shower, kicking the door shut behind her more out of reflex than anything else.

Almost half an hour later found her downstairs dressed in comfortable black jeans and a silver top, halfway through her morning routine... and her first cup of coffee. She was certain that if she didn't have her morning caffeine every day that she simply wouldn't be able to function, and she smiled at the thought that Rachel would have taken great pleasure in teasing her about her new habit. _Granted knowing her, she'd be just as addicted as I am, but she'd still poke fun at me..._

Chuckling, she headed to the front door, unlocking it and pulling it open, a shiver winding it's way down her spine when a gust of cool October wind greeted her, the chill made worse by her still partially damp hair. Quickly transferring her coffee to her left hand, she bent down and snatched up her morning paper, shaking frost off of it before taking a quick look at the house across from her, and the three Chihuahua's that were standing on the door step, shivering. _Why anyone would buy dogs that look like big rats, I have no idea. And she's got twenty of them!_

Marvelling at the strangeness of people, she went back inside, kicking the door shut behind her as she headed back to the kitchen, nearly tripping over the cat that curled around her ankles. "Outta the way, you." The cat had belonged to Maeve. A sleekly built short-haired black creature with piercing green eyes. There were times where she swore he understood her, like now, when he gave her an annoyed look and stalked away, tail held high.

Rolling her eyes at her own foolishness, she dropped the paper onto the diningroom table and set her mug down next to it, a frown marring her features when the doorbell rang. _Dammit. Who the hell is here at ten to seven in the morning?_ Curious and perhaps a little irritated, she headed back to the entrance and reached out to open the door, frowning when the cat hissed and screeched from behind her. 

She understood why seconds later, when she stared into the glowing red eyes of something large and altogether inhuman, a scream escaping her when it lashed out to rake it's talons over her left arm before she managed to throw herself back into the safety of the house and slam the door in it's face. _What the hell was **that?!**_

~*~

"Anthony Julian Conway! You get up this instant! You're going to miss your bus!"

"Nuuugh?" The groan preceded the head that rose from the tousled bedsheets, and Tony let out another groan as he blinked at the clock that sat on his desk for a few moments, trying to understand the numbers. He felt _horrible._ As if he'd been running a marathon and then volunteered to mow a football field with his teeth. At least that's what the taste in his mouth tasted like.

Moaning this time, he slowly forced himself to his feet and staggered towards the door, frowning when he stubbed his toe on something. _Wha? _Still partially asleep, he bent and picked up the object, peering at the open spellbook that he had swiped from the store, and the unfamiliar spell that it was opened to. _Demons? Yeah, right._ Figuring that he'd made the pages turn when he had kicked it, he tossed the thing over his shoulder, leaving it to plop down onto the bed as he shuffled into the bathroom that was attached to his room.

~*~

Deep within the child's subconscious, the presence watched, and waited. It's time would come. The boy hadn't even noticed his intrusion yet. And by the time he'd catch on, the presence would already have partial if not full control of his mind and body. Already it had tested out it's grasp on the boy while he was sleeping, delighting in the power he could now tap into through the child's body. It had been simple to summon that foul creature. Even more simple to send it after the witch. And as soon as his hold on the boy increased so that he wouldn't have to wait until Tony slept, then, _then_, the real fun would begin...

~*~

If any casual observer had looked into the forest at that moment, they'd have thought that they'd just witnessed a spirit passing between the trees at a fantastic speed. A fae of legend that moved seemingly without any real effort. Granted, if they thought that form was a legend, or anything other than flesh and blood, then the one in question would probably try to sell them some swampland, pigs and psycho villagers included at no charge.

Kaelianna grinned to herself as she ran faster, delighting in the sensation of running for the sheer joy of it. The three years that had passed and the numerous adventures she'd had during that time had helped her grow into a very athletic woman, one that even now, wasn't tired in the least, and she'd been running at this pace for just a little over half an hour now without even breaking a sweat.

The sword that she wore at her left hip banged against a tree, and she winced at what Bowen would have said if he'd seen her do that. _Oh well, what he doesn't know can't hurt me._ Chuckling, she hopped over a tree stump and dodged around a bush, raising an arm to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun as she broke out into a meadow. _Sunglasses. If it's one thing I miss, it's sunglasses..._

Her destination lay before her, a rocky path that lead up into a huge jagged entrance to a cave, and it was there that she headed now, forced to slow her speed when the stones and dirt shifted under her weight, threatening to topple her if she wasn't careful. Blowing a strand of coppery auburn hair out of her eyes, she scrambled up the last little bit of the climb and paused at the entrance, taking a moment to look out over the landscape that lay in front of her before turning and strolling into the cave. 

"Hey," she called, her voice echoing loudly as she walked deeper into the dimness, the only light around her coming from the glowing and bubbling mud pits. "Wake up, you lazy creature! Bowen's right pissed that you weren't at the castle this morning! You'd better appreciate that I managed to get your tail out of trouble _again._" Her boot caught on a jutting rock then, and she cursed as she twisted to keep herself from falling, sending an annoyed glare back at the cause of her irritation before continuing to head towards a jutting shelf of rock ahead of her, frowning when she realised that she still hadn't gotten an answer.

A low threatening growl from behind her caught her attention then, and she rolled her eyes as she turned and placed her hands on her hips, huffing in exasperation as she stared at the huge form in the shadows, completely unfazed at the look of malice that could be seen through the wisps of smoke. "You were supposed to meet me at the castle, remember? What happened? And quit trying to scare me, Draco, you know that doesn't work any more."

"One day, I'll manage to surprise you, little dreamer." Chuckling, the dragon dropped his facade and stepped into the dim glow, smiling when he met her gaze. "I.... was distracted. I'm truly sorry. He didn't take it out on you, did he?"

She smirked. "He tried. Didn't get him anywhere though," she said, lowering her arms as she spoke. She knew what had distracted him. When he visited this cave, the treasure hidden deep within always distracted him. "So? Any updates?"

"Nothing new," he told her as he turned and walked over to the cave wall, reaching out with a claw to haul open a hidden crevice, letting her see the slightly glowing dragon's egg within. He remembered when he had first shown her his secret, remembered how infuriated she had been with him about how he had been willing to let himself die, leaving his hatchling to grow up alone, without any real parents. _Granted, she had good reason. She's been through the worst of what could have happened...._ "It's times like these that I wish the eggs matured faster."

Kaelianna sighed and walked over to him, feeling his breath against her back as she looked in at the egg. "How long, did you say?"

"If I had died... almost fifty years. Though with proper tending and a dragon's touch, perhaps five more, give or take a year or two. Careful now." He waited until she had stepped aside before replacing the large boulder, trapping the warm air from the underground mud pits in with the egg. Kaeli had called it the perfect incubator, and after she had explained the meaning of the word, he had readily agreed. Once every week, he returned to check on it, gingerly turning it so the shell wouldn't become weakened in one place and so that it would stay at an even temperature, even going as far as to heat the rock wall around it with his flame if he found that the underground pits weren't hot enough. 

His worries, of course, stemmed around the fear that the egg would be discovered by the humans, especially since he had completely refused to let anyone except Kaeli know of it. But he had forgotten about the elf's magicks. Without being asked, she had automatically volunteered to place wards and shields around both the cave, and the egg's hiding place, even going as far as to ensure that if anyone were to actually bypass the spells and get into the cave, that they would both be immediately aware of it.

"You know," he murmured as he carefully tapped the stone into place. "I don't think I ever thanked you."

Kaeli frowned at him curiously as he turned to look at her and quirked a bronze eyebrow at him. "For what?"

"Helping me keep my son safe."

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't?"

"No! No... Of course not."

"The don't worry about it, hmm? Besides, if I were you, I'd be worrying about the rant that Bowen's rehearsing for the next time he sees you."

"I fear him not," he grinned, using one of the sayings that he had learned from her as he gently head-butted her towards the cave entrance, seeking the sunlight that played at the edge of the shadows. "Anyway, I rather think a bit of patience on his part is in order, don't you agree? Especially considering how we helped him defend the kingdom a few months ago."

"Bah. Those 'invaders' were pitiful."

"You only say that because they stampeded at the sight of us."

"I say that because they stampeded over a cliff."

"Good point." Chuckling at the memory, he gave her a final push and walked out into bright warm sunlight, sighing happily as he rose his face to it, wings partially unfolding to catch the breeze as he looked out over the landscape before them. A yelp of pain made him dart his gaze down to his Rider, growling worriedly when he saw that she was clutching at her head. "Kaelianna!"

She grimaced and grit her teeth, her eyes tightly clenched shut as hundreds of images flashed through her thoughts. They moved so quickly that she could barely make them out, nevermind understand them. The only ones that she managed to fully see were various glimpses of Draco, a few of her old hometown and one of a city she had never visited. It wasn't until an image of something all together dark and evil attacking Erica that she understood, the realisation making her gasp and snap her eyes open to stare at a near panicked dragon. "Draco, can you bring me to Avalon?"

"What?" 

"Draco, _please._ I'll explain on the way."

Knowing that whatever had brought about this change in her must have been important, he obligingly crouched and let her climb onto his back, spreading his wings as he crouched in preparation of launching himself into the air. "What about Bowen?"

"He's waited this long, he can wait a bit longer. It's not like telling you not to go after the farmers herds of sheep is a kingdom-wide emergency."

"I only did that once!"

"Less talking, more flying."

Growling, he snorted a small blast of fire into the air and leapt after it, his wings cutting through the smoke of the already extinguished flames as he rose into the clouds, waiting until he was at a safe altitude before frowning and glancing back at his Rider. "Kaeli, tell me what this is about."

She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and fixed her gaze on the clouds ahead of them. "I saw something attacking Erica. I can't explain what it was or why it was attacking her, but I know she needs my help. I just know it! I...." she trailed off for a moment, then sighed. "I have to go back, Draco."

He clenched his claws into fists and turned his gaze back to the clouds, staying silent for a moment before speaking. "You know that there's a chance you won't be able to come back."

"....I know. But 'Rica.... she's like my sister. I can't just leave her when she's in trouble."

"No. No, I don't imagine that you would, little dreamer...." The dragon sighed heavily and shook his head. He had known, deep inside, that one day he would have to let her go. But he had never dreamed that it would have been so soon. He would have liked to have her by his side to help him raise his son.... 

They flew in silence, neither of them willing to voice their fears of losing each other, knowing that just the slightest thing could shatter both of their resolves, making them lose sight of what was at stake. It wasn't until Draco landed that Kaeli opened her eyes, blinking unshed tears away to look at the tall circle of spires that marked the heart of Avalon. _It's too fast, too soon. I'm not ready to leave! But if I wait...._

"Kaelianna, come where I can see you."

Mustering the last bits of her determination to go through with this, she carefully slid from Draco's back and moved to stand in front of him, tears gathering in her eyes again when she met his tender gaze. _I can't do this!_

Seeing her visibly waver, Draco sighed and lowered his head to her, crooning encouragement when she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his scales. "Shh. I will always be with you, you know that. No matter what happens, I will always be proud of you, my little dreamer."

"I will come back," she whispered. "I swear it, Draco. I'll come home when this is over."

"I'll be waiting," he rumbled, resisting the urge to stop her as she pulled away and stepped into the centre of the circled spires. He was forced to back away when vivid green light rose from the seal of Avalon that the elf was standing on, the glowing energy melding with the rising winds that now curled around her, lifting her hair off her shoulders. _Kaelianna.... whatever happens.... may the stars guide and protect you, my Rider...._ Almost unbidden, a deeper thought rose from his heart, and he sighed when he saw tears falling from her closed eyes moments before she was completely enveloped in the spell, vanishing from view. _I wish I could go with you...._

~*~

Erica clutched her jacket closed to shield herself from the cool autumn wind as she climbed out of her car, juggling her keys and a few bags of groceries along with catalogues that she ordered from for the store. It was a miracle that she didn't drop anything as she staggered to the front door of her house, desperately seeking it's comfortable warmth from both the wind and from the memory of the day she had just had.

Murphy's Law had been her buddy today, it seemed. For if anything could have gone wrong, it did. Not only had she been attacked that morning, but she had discovered a nest of mice in the storage room of the store, a book shelf had toppled, her key had snapped in half in the main lock of the display case, and her lunch of a ham sandwich had been mysteriously placed in the freezer. On top of that, there had been no customers at all, and Tony had seemed strangely withdrawn. So much so that she had been forced to send him home in the middle of his shift.

"Hey cat," she muttered as she finally managed to get the front door open without dropping anything, having spotted the black feline sprawled out on the rug that lead from the entrance to the archway of the kitchen. Yanking the key free of the lock, she shuffled inside and set her things down on a small table, shucking out of her jacket and boots before grabbing her things again and heading for the kitchen, turning lights on as she went.

After that morning's attack, she had placed numerous wards around the house, ensuring that nothing short of a warlock could have broken in. Even now, she could sense the odd tingling sensation of the shields that protected her home, the knowledge that they were at full power giving her some comfort.

She was in the middle of putting groceries away while listening to the six o'clock news on the radio, when the doorbell rang, the sound making her heart skip a beat before she pulled herself together and headed for the front door. "Who's there?"

"Fantastic Flowers Delivery, ma'am!" 

The reply was muffled by the door, but it was enough to assure her that it was safe as she opened the door a crack and peered out at the rather impatient man on the other side. "Yes?"

"Got me a delivery for ya. Jus' sign here."

Startled, she took the pen and clipboard that was thrust into her hands and quickly scribbled down her name, blinking when the objects were yanked away and replaced with a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed red roses. The sound of a car door slamming made her look over at the florists' van that was parked in her driveway, and she blinked at it as it backed up and screeched down the street. _I wonder who sent me these? _

Curious, she closed the door and paused to lock it before tugging at the small note amongst the roses, frowning as she read it.

To my gorgeous shop-keeper.

Love always, A.

"Why that little...." She cut herself off with an annoyed huff and threw the flowers down onto a table as she snatched at the phone. She knew who had sent these now. Alexander. Her boyfriend. Normally this wouldn't bring about a fit of anger, but she had just lent him a hundred dollars a few days ago because he had been short on cash, and now he was going out and buying her gifts with her own money! Money that he had said was going to go towards his rent. 

Getting no answer from his home phone, she muttered crossly and dialled his cell phone number, dimly aware that the radio was reporting a bizarre flash of green light and a freak windstorm in the vicinity of the parkway as she mentally rehearsed her rant, dimly aware that her cat was watching her with curious green eyes.

~*~

"Ooooh.... my achin' everything...." Kaeli groaned as she gingerly pushed herself to her knees, shaking her head a little to try to reorient her thoughts, having been completely unprepared for what the time-travel spell was like. "Ugh.... medic...."

Lights blinded her then, and she rose an arm to shield her eyes as she squinted, just barely making out a large object before the car sped past her. Blinking, she looked around and discovered that she was sitting in the middle of a grassy median, and she inwardly grimaced at the stench of the air as she forced herself to her feet. _It's night already? That's strange, I hope there isn't some freak time difference going on._

Bright streetlights obscured her view of the stars, and she sighed as she turned her gaze to the horizon, spotting the numerous lights there. _Must be downtown.... but this isn't where 'Rica and I grew up, did she move? No, wait... I remember! This is where 'Rica's aunt lives!_ Glad that she had some idea of where she was, Kaeli turned to run across the street to the sidewalk, pausing when a flash of green light and a loud yell caught her attention, making her turn in time to see a large scaled form tumble tail over horned head to a stop in front of her. Cars screeched to a stop on either side of the median as people stared at the groaning creature that was muttering something about ungraceful landings, and she gaped a while longer before coherency reared it's ugly head. "...._Draco?!_"


	3. Guess who's coming to dinner

Lashana owns everything except Draco. She wishes she owned Draco, however, because she's certain she could convince him to 'singe' her office building.

****

Past revisited

Chapter three: Guess who's coming to dinner

Kaelianna didn't know what to do. 

Not only was she now in a world that she didn't know anymore, but now she was surrounded by screaming and panicking people who were pointing at the dazed dragon that lay before her while they tried to drag her away from the supposed beast. Said dragon that was going to be joining those people in panicking as soon as he got his wits about him. _This is not good. Not. Good._

The sound of the screams and yells changed pitch then, and she turned wide eyes to the dragon that was now looking around himself in confusion, tail lashing in an outward sign of agitation as he rose to his feet, towering over all of them and rumbling when the lights from the cars blinded him. Sirens and flashes of red light made her heart dive-bomb into her stomach, and she frantically tried to struggle free of the hands that were pulling at her, her voice drowned out by the noise of the sirens. _Draco!_

What hell is this?! The dragon spun in a circle, snarling at the noises and bright lights that were disorienting him, giving him the feeling that he was trapped. The air was foul, the stars hidden from view by the flashing lights that were now all around him, making his inner lids shutter down over his eyes to protect them from a threat he'd never before encountered. Screams and yells drew his attention to a large group of humans to his left, and he growled angrily when he saw them dragging a struggling Kaelianna away from him. _No!_

"Let go! You don't understand! Let me go!" Her yells fell on deaf ears, and Kaeli snarled in frustration as she lashed out, backhanding a cop away from her. "Get off of me!" The training that Bowen had ingrained into her rose into life then, making her shift her weight to her left leg as she lashed out with her right foot, mule-kicking the officer that was holding her right in the cujones.

Now free, she shoved her way through the crowd and scrambled up onto the hood of a car, raising her voice over the caphony of sounds around her as she rose both arms and waved, trying to get the dragon's attention as he crouched and growled at the people around him, tensing in preparation of a fight. "_DRACO!_"

His hearing might have been nigh overloaded by the garbled mess of noises around him, but the wave of fear and worry that washed through his heart easily caught his attention, making him snap his head up and around to look at the one that was waving to him, her form silhouetted by the continuous flashing lights that rivalled those of the stars.

Desperate to get away from this place, Draco snapped his wings open and lunged into the sky, grunting when a bright beam of light hit him straight in the face, momentarily blinding him. Knowing that he couldn't leave Kaeli with these barbarians, he cracked an eye open just enough to catch sight of her and dove, inwardly chuckling as the humans threw themselves to the ground, enabling him to easily scoop his Rider into his claws before rising into the darkness.

The sensation of being nestled against a scaled chest made Kaeli heave a sigh of relief as she gripped at the talons that were closed around her, very aware of the thunderous beat of the dragon's heart. Twice she saw him send a worried look behind them, and she frowned to herself as she stared down at the landscape beneath them, knowing that explaining the concept of cars and streetlights to him was going to be a challenge.

Spotting a small secluded park close to a convince store, she nudged her elbow against his claw to get his attention and pointed to the grove of trees, feeling his talons tighten around her as he hesitantly folded his wings and dove.

"What barbaric place is this?!" Draco growled once they were on the ground, his tail thumping against a tree as he lashed it in irritation, his gaze darting around the small clearing before he deemed it safe, letting him turn his attention to his Rider, who looked just as pale and frightened as he felt. "Are you alright? Did they harm you?"

"I-I'm alright. I'm okay," she said softly, dimly aware that he had spread his wings so that they formed a protective barrier on either side of her. "You?"

"I've been better! What were those lights, and that shrill screeching sound? And what were those strange wheeled contraptions?!"

She sighed as she watched him send wary looks into the darkness around them as he spoke and waited until he had returned his gaze to her before stepping forward and lightly touching his scaled cheek. "Draco, I'll explain everything. I promise. But first we have to get you somewhere safe, we can't risk anyone else seeing you." Truthfully, seeing him trying not to let his fear show was doing nothing to keep her calm, and she inwardly braced herself for what was bound to happen next. "Look, there's a.... a small market just over there. I'm going to go see if I can find some information on where 'Rica is, I need you to stay here and--"

"If you think that I'm going to let you risk getting caught by those fools--!"

"Draco, _listen_ to me! Humans in this time don't believe in dragons. If they see you they'll try to capture you or kill you and the humans of this time have much deadlier weapons than the ones you're used to evading!" She saw him clench his jaw a little as he shot a distrustful look in the direction of the store before he returned his visibly shaken gaze to her. "Draco, _please_, just wait here for me. I'll only be gone a few minutes."

"....alright. Go. Quickly." He saw her smile at him in thanks and sighed as he took a moment to rub his cheek against her side. "Call for me if you need to. Weapons or no, I refuse to lose you to these barbaric humans."

"I'll be right back," she promised, giving him a quick kiss on his snout before turning and dashing towards the nearby parking lot. A part of her dreaded having to explain all of this to him, she hadn't wanted him to know about where she had come from. Compared to his time, hers was based on ideas and technology that was almost beyond his capability to understand. She only hoped that when they found Erica, her friend would be able to help her hide him.

Shaking her head a little, she slowed to a walk as she stepped into the halo of light from the streetlamp and made her way over to a phone booth, wrinkling her nose at the stench of it as she opened the phone book and leafed through it. _Okay, Johnston, Johnston... aha! Only one 'E. Johnston' in the area! Gaia be praised, we might not be completely screwed._

Grinning, she ripped the page out of the book and shoved it into the small bag she always carried, mustering up her courage as she headed into the corner store, very aware of the cashier's gaze on her as she walked over to a stand of maps and sifted through them. _Hmm, this isn't good. I just realised that I don't have any paper money on me...._ Frowning a little, she rifled through her change purse and tossed five gold coins onto the counter, winking at the stunned human mischievously. "Keep the change."

Not wasting a moment in case the cashier tried to stop her, she bolted from the store and ran back to the waiting dragon, letting him nuzzle her shoulder in relieved greeting before she flashed him a triumphant grin and vaulted onto his back. "Let's go!"

"You know where she is?" he asked as he obligingly launched himself into the air, the tops of the trees rustling loudly from the wind his beating wings created.

"Kinda. I know how to find her, that's just as good, right? Here now, you keep boasting about that eyesight of yours, can you see what that sign says down there?"

"Which one? There's six of them! How do these people know where they're going?!"

"Gods only know. Look for... uh... something-road, or avenue. Should be on a little blue sign."

"There's two. 'Bridge Avenue' and 'Maple Crescent'."

"Bridge and Maple...." She frowned and carefully unfolded the map as he rose a little higher and circled the intersection, his gaze trying to take in everything all at once while she fought with the map and the page she had ripped out of the phone book. "Okaaay. Um.... Oh, here it is. 'Bridge Ave.' Okay, Draco, head West."

"And which way would that be?"

"Uh.... good question." She glanced down at the map, then at the streets below before tapping his shoulder to get him to look at her and pointing. "That way. Try to find 'Janson Street'."

"You're sure?"

"Um...." Pushing the map as flat against his scales as she could, she used the light from the city below to help her see and nodded to herself. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. We follow 'Bridge' up to 'Janson' then hang a left and find 'Dryden Cresent'."

"Cresent, street, avenue?" He shook his head and turned his gaze down to the smooth stone road he was supposed to follow, warily eyeing some sort of metal carriage that came to a stop at a corner, the light that came from it terribly bright in the darkness. "How complicated are things in this time?"

"You don't want to know," Kaeli answered as she leaned forward and peered past his left shoulder, trying to read the street signs.

He glanced back at her and winced a little, remembering that he was supposed to be trying to find the right street. Inwardly chastising himself for letting his curiosity get the better of him, he turned his attention to the numerous odd posts on either side of the road and slowed his wingbeats as he rose a claw and pointed. "There. 'Janson'. Hold on." Not waiting for an answer, he turned on a wingtip and altered his course, oddly relieved to see that the area they were now flying over seemed to be quieter than the others. "What are those?"

"Houses. Think of them as extravagant huts." 

"Hrrm...." He lazily beat his wings and soared over parallel rows of tall trees that lined either side of the road, swinging his head down to peer at the tiny signs that came into view, automatically turning to follow 'Dryden Cresent' when he saw it. "Which way now, Kaeli?"

"I don't--" She cut herself off with a yelp as the wind caught the map and sent it into her face, and she bared her teeth in a snarl as she balled it up and threw it aside. "Ugh, bloody maps...." Her mood lightened when she heard the dragon's muffled chuckle, and she smiled despite herself as she looked at the page from the phone book. "There's numbers on the houses. Look for five-oh-eight. Oh, wait. Nevermind. I see it. See that big brick one there?"

"Brick?"

"Er... red stones."

"Ah. That one."

"Yup. Land in the yard behind it. You should be safely hidden back there while I go surprise Erica." _Which ought to be a big surprise considering I saw two cars in the driveway.... methinks 'Rica's got more than just us for company...._

~*~

"So... these aren't from you?"

Alex sighed for the fifth time that minute and shook his head, raising a hand to run his fingers through his short dark hair. "Sorry, hon. I know how much you love roses, but they're not from me."

"Oh." Erica swallowed thickly and dropped down onto the couch next to him, staring at her hands as a wave of guilt washed over her, dimly aware that the cat was staring at her as if to say 'I told you so'. "I'm so sorry, Alex. I thought you had--"

"You thought I lied when I said I needed money, didn't you?" He frowned at her as she avoided his gaze and resisted the sudden urge to shake her until her teeth rattled. "Erica, I would _never_ do that! You know that! If my car hadn't needed a new transmission I wouldn't have been unable to make rent!"

"I know, I _know!_ But with the way this week has been going.... I guess I'm just.... Oh, I don't know anymore!" Sighing in defeat, she lowered her face into her hands and closed her eyes, shivering when she felt Alex move closer to her and slip an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tenderly. "I really am sorry, Alex."

Seeing how obviously horrid she felt, he shook his head slightly and gently lifted her head so that he could meet her gaze. "It's okay, brighteyes." Aiming to make her feel a bit better, he smiled and winked at her. "Though, I'm a little jealous now, considering that you seem to have a secret admirer."

A weak chuckle left her as she leaned towards him, feeling him bury his fingers in her unbound hair as she met his hazel gaze. "Whoever they are, they don't compare to you."

"Ah, there's what my male ego likes to hear," he teased, eliciting a more carefree laugh than before. "So! Now that we've officially had our first 'huge misunderstanding as a couple', what's next? Should I camp out on the couch? Eat cold wieners? Clean the kitchen floor with a toothbrush?"

"Actually, I've been meaning to wash that floor...." she trailed off at the amused look he gave her and grinned as she draped her arms around his neck. "How about you just stay a little longer and watch a movie with me?"

Alex grinned in return and leaned a little closer to her, brushing his lips over hers. "That can be arranged." He was mere millimetres away from kissing her when the doorbell rang, and he grumbled in annoyance as she pulled away, sticking his tongue out at her when she snickered at him.

Grinning, Erica tucked her hair behind her ears and opened the front door, frowning at the figure that was standing in the shadows. "Can I help you? Though, if you're selling chocolate, I don't want any."

"You? You'd turn down chocolate? Damn, 'Rica, what happened to you?" 

Erica gasped at the familiar voice, her eyes widening when Kaelianna stepped forward, the light from the entranceway highlighting the gold streaks in her hair, her emerald eyes dancing with mischief. "_Rach!_"

Wondering what all the female shrieks and giggles were about, Alex got up from the couch and peered around the wall that separated most of the livingroom from the entrance, quirking an eyebrow at the other woman that Erica was enthusiastically hugging. He wondered who she was, for he was certain that Erica had never mentioned a long-lost friend, especially not one who looked like she did. She looked like she had stepped right out of a fantasy novel.

"What are you doing here?! I tried to go back, really I did! How are Bowen and Kara? How'd you get here?!"

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" Kaeli grinned, making calming motions towards her best friend while trying to contain her own excitement. "One thing at a time! First...." She trailed off and blinked at the dark-haired male that was staring at them. "Oh, hello."

"Huh? Oh! C'mere, Alex. I want you to meet my best friend," Erica smiled as she wrapped her arms around his left arm and pulled him towards the other woman. "Alex, this is Rachel."

"Actually, it's 'Kaelianna' now, but I'm more used to being called, 'Kaeli'. Nice to meet you, Alex." She smiled at him for a moment, then shot a look at Erica. "Um.... can we talk? _Alone?_"

"Uh...."

"Great! Nice meeting you, Alex!" Not waiting for an answer, Kaeli shoved him out and kicked the door shut, ignoring Erica's loud protests as she dragged her friend into the kitchen. 

"Stop that! Leggo! Rachel, what the hell's gotten into you?! That was my _boyfriend_ you just threw out! Ow! Quit shoving me!"

Rolling her eyes as she reached the back doors, Kaeli spun and lay her hands on her friend's cheeks, forcibly turning Erica's head so that she stared out of the sliding glass doors.... 

....right into the eyes of an anxiously waiting dragon, who gave her a sheepish grin and rose a claw in a wave.

Erica blinked. "Oh, hell."

TBC


	4. Tricks! A new house guest!

_Lashana owns everything except Draco. She wishes she owned Draco, however, because she's certain she could convince him to 'singe' her office building._

_*grins* Glad to know that people like the ficcie! I'll try not to let y'all down!_   
  


**Tricks! A new house guest!**   
  


"Are you insane?!" 

Kaelianna leaned back against Draco and rose a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose as a headache started to throb behind her eyes, resisting the urge to start banging her head against something. "'Rica, quit it with the yelling, would you?" 

"I haven't even started yelling yet! First you just show up out of the blue, then you throw my boyfriend out and now I have a dragon standing on my herb garden!" 

Draco blinked and lowered his gaze from the woman that was standing in the doorway, wincing as he rose his right foreclaw. "Sorry." 

"Argh!" Erica fisted her hands in her hair and pulled, repeating the only thing that was in her mind at the moment. "Are you insane?!" 

"Ask me again why don't you?" Kaeli growled, dangerously low on patience. "An hey, why don't you yell louder while you're at it? I'm fairly sure that there's some people in the city that didn't hear you!! I came here because I saw something attacking you, dammit! Can't you cut me a bit of slack here?!" 

Erica's retort died on her lips at the sound of that last bit. "You... saw?" 

"I had a vision or some kinda thing like that," the elf muttered, making a vague gesture in the air with a hand. "Big, tall, ugly, black skin, too many talons and fangs, red eyes--" 

"That's enough." She shivered at the reminder of it and subconsciously rubbed at her left arm, where the gash was hidden under both her sleeve and a thick layer of bandages. "You came...." 

"Because I was worried about you, you idiot. Though I have no idea why Draco's with me." Kaelianna shot a look at the dragon and sighed. "I didn't even know it was possible to bring him with me. But that's beside the point. Can you help me hide him? We kinda had a run in with the cops." 

"I heard," Erica smirked. "It's all over the news. Hang tight, I'll see what I can do." 

Draco waited until she had disappeared back into the house before looking down at his Rider, lowering his head to gently nudge her shoulder. "Would you rather I hadn't come, Kaelianna?" 

Blinking at the worried question, she turned and looked at him, smiling as she met his gaze. "No. I just wish things hadn't turned out the way they have. Having you get swarmed by police the first minute you've been here isn't exactly how I wanted you to experience my time." 

"Hmm. Police? Like, sheriffs?" 

"Kinda, yeah." Hurried footsteps drew her gaze back to the doors, and she frowned at the mischievous grin on Erica's face. "Oh Lords, I remember that look." 

"Oh, calm down. You'll like this. It's just an innocent little spell." 

The dragon eyed her warily as Kaeli walked over to her and peered at the piece of paper she was holding. "Spell?" 

"Nothing bad, don't worry," Erica smiled, blinking when Kaeli shot her a glare. "What?" 

"You have _got_ to be kidding." 

"Nope. It's the only way we can keep him hidden and safe all at once. 'Sides, unless you have a better idea?" 

"Would one of you mind explaining to me what you're talking about?" Draco growled, frowning at them as they both looked at him a little warily. "Well?" 

"Um...." Erica glanced at Kaeli, who gave her a 'this is your idea' look while she folded her arms over her chest. "Well.... um.... Kaeli? You wanna take this?" 

"This is your idea, 'Rica." 

"But he's your dragon!" 

"It's your house." 

"It.... aw, dammit, fine." Grumbling, Erica looked at the expectant dragon and sighed. "We're gonna shrink you." 

"....what?! No!" 

_Oh very tactful, Erica..._ Sighing, Kaeli shot a look at her friend before walking down the couple of stairs and moving over to the dragon. "It's just for a little while, so you can come inside. It's the only way to-- Erica! Now!" 

Grinning, Erica yelled out the incantation to the spell and launched it at the distracted dragon, watching smugly as it swirled around him, the golden energy pulsing a little as it enveloped him. When it vanished, she found herself on the receiving end of a very nasty draconic glare, but even then, she couldn't stop herself from smirking at him. "What? It worked, didn't it?" 

Knowing that this was going to take a bit of finesse, Kaeli stepped over to the dragon that was a quarter of his original size, wincing when he turned his glare on her. "Draco, I just don't want them to find you. If they do...." 

He growled a little and snorted, his breath lifting her hair from her shoulders. Finding oneself shrunken from their normal size down to something the size of a small horse was not pleasant. Especially when one was tricked into it. "Kaelianna...." His anger wavered at the emotion in her eyes, and he cursed softly, finding himself unable to finish his sentence. "Alright. Alright! Just _warn me_ next time! And stop looking at me like that!" 

Erica snickered as the dragon stomped past her into the house and looked over at a smirking Kaeli. "Well done. Didn't know the puppy-dog look worked on him." 

"I know. Works like a charm, doesn't it?" the elf grinned. "He'll fume about for a bit, but I'm betting that his curiosity will make him forget about this soon enough." 

"Kewl. Well c'mon in. Lords know where I'll find the room to put him, but I suppose we can figure something out." She ushered Kaeli inside as she spoke and closed the doors, taking a moment to lock them before a loud screech and a bellow of surprise caught her attention. "Looks like he found Draggin'." 

Kaeli paused in mid-step, her intent to investigate the noise wavering as she looked back at her friend. "Huh? Dragon?" 

"The cat. Draggin'. As in he keeps 'draggin' things into the house?" 

She groaned. "That's terrible." 

Erica grinned. "I know. Ain't it great?" 

Choosing not to comment, Kaeli made a silent prayer for strength and walked into the livingroom, sighing when she saw a black cat perched on the top of a tall bookshelf, it's teeth bared as it hissed at Draco. "Draco, meet Draggin'. Draggin', Draco." 

"Dragon?" 

Erica chuckled from the kitchen. "No! Draggin'. As in--" 

"'He keeps draggin' things into the house'," Kaeli finished with a groan, exchanging grimaces with Draco before shrugging and gesturing for him to follow her as she headed back into the kitchen. "So, 'Rica, since this was your _brilliant_ idea, care to tell me where we can stay?" 

"There's a couple of spare bedrooms upstairs," Erica told her, pointing at the nearby stairs for emphasis. "Should be good enough. I'll lend you some clothes too, the medieval look is way out these days." 

Kaeli winced and glanced down at herself. "I suppose." 

"Good. Now drag him out of the kitchen, I have to call my boyfriend and make up an excuse as to why I'm friends with a psycho." 

"I resent that," she muttered, shooting a glare at Draco when he chuckled. 

"Tough! Get out." 

"Hmpft." 

~*~ 

It was half an hour later when Erica hung up the phone and walked out to where Kaeli was sitting on the floor across from Draco, the dragon's attention locked on her as she tried to explain exactly how a television worked. "Why don't you just tell him it's magic and leave it at that?" Her answer came in the form of a groan of despair and the sight of her best friend throwing herself onto her back on the floor. "Slightly inquisitive, is he?" 

"Nuugh." 

Erica took that to mean 'he's making my brain hurt' and chuckled as she sat on the couch, grinning at the dragon that was rolling his eyes and playfully nudging the elf in the side with a claw. "Look, I've got a better idea. Instead of trying to explain everything to ya, Draco, why don't I just let you loose on my encyclopaedia set, hmm? It's chalk full of info and it'll give Kaeli a break before she suffers permanent brain damage." 

"Go to hell," the elf muttered sourly, still not moving from where she was lying on the floor. 

"I love you too," Erica snickered, grinning when a familiar black form leapt into her arms. "Hey cat. I forgot to feed you again, didn't I?" 

"No wonder the poor thing's so high strung," Kaeli grumbled good naturedly as she crawled over to Draco and leaned back against his shoulder. "He has to live with you." 

"Oh, like you're any better. And you are not sleeping on the livingroom floor. Get up and follow me." 

Draco sighed and rose his head above Kaeli's, watching Erica warily as she stood and headed for the stairs. "You don't seriously expect me to go up there. Dragon's aren't built for stairs." 

"You'll learn. 'Sides, if a dog can climb stairs, so can you." 

Kaeli growled and shot her a nasty glare as she pushed herself to her feet. "Erica!" 

"What? It's an innocent little comment. Yeesh, protective much?" 

Still far from pleased, Kaeli looked over at a rather unimpressed Draco as he got to his feet, his shoulder equal with hers as he moved to stand by her side. "You really can singe her if you want." 

"There will be no breathing of fire in the house!" Erica shot back, giving the two of them a warning look. "Else you'll sleep in the garage!" 

Muttering about inhospitable hosts, Draco brushed past Kaeli and eyed the stairs a little warily, sighing when Erica yelled at them to hurry up. All in all, he thought it a miracle that he managed to get upstairs, and he grimaced at the realization that he'd have to brave that particular hurdle every single day until this fiasco was over with. 

As soon as she saw him, Erica led him over to a small room that held a fairly large bed - for a human - and various pieces of furniture that held no meaning to him but peaked his curiosity all the same. Glancing back at his Rider, he discovered that they had gone on ahead into another room, and he sighed as he reluctantly stepped into what Erica had termed 'his' room, growling softly as he did so. 

"Draco?" 

The soft call drew his attention from trying to figure out how he was going to sleep on a bed that obviously couldn't support his weight while in a room that was disgustingly small, and he mustered up a relieved smile when Kaelianna walked over to him, making him arch a brow ridge at her quizzically when he saw that she had changed from her normal clothes into an outfit of light blue breeches and a grey sleeveless tunic. 

"Hey," Kaeli murmured, smiling as she reached out to rub her knuckles over his cheek. "I am sorry, you know. For tricking you like that." 

"You're forgiven," he rumbled, leaning against her hand, grateful to have one thing here that was familiar. "I understand why you did. I'd rather be a little uncomfortable than be forced to hide in the shadows again." 

"Could be worse," she smirked, grinning when he looked at her in askance. "Bowen could be with us." 

"Good point!" Chuckling, he reached out and plucked at the strange clothing she wore. "There's so much about this time I want to know. What Erica said about.... what did she call them?" 

"Encyclopaedias. They're books filled with information about hundreds of things." 

"I think that I would like to see those." He paused and gave her a teasing grin. "At least then I wouldn't end up hurting your brain, hmm?" 

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. You haven't even been here an entire day and already Erica's a bad influence on you!" 

Rolling her eyes, she gave his right eyeridge a brief scratch, then pulled away. "Speaking of which, 'Rica gave me the room just across from this one, and after the exasperatingly lovely day we've had, I really need to get a bit of sleep, okay?" 

_She's... leaving? _He jerked a little, eyes widening when she reached for the door. "Kaelianna!" 

She turned the nervous call and frowned at the dragon worriedly, not liking the shadows in his eyes. "Draco? Draco, what's wrong?" 

He paced a little in the confines of the room, tail lashing slightly as he glanced away from her. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful. He knew how hard it had been for Erica to weave the spell that had allowed him entrance into the house, but now he found himself struggling with a sudden sense of unease that almost frightened him. He felt out of place, cut off from so much. Perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't been this size since he was a hatchling, all those long years ago, or perhaps it was the fact that he had been thrown into this new time, where dragons were gone and where everything was so alien to him. Being the holder of the Lifesource let him block his rising emotions from his amazingly sensitive Rider, but even then, he guessed that she was starting to become suspicious, after all, she understood him better than anyone. 

Sighing, he shook his head a little and rose his gaze to her, suddenly finding the room too small and too cramped. The side of the bed pressed against his left haunch, and he restrained the urge to lash out at it in an attempt to clear some space. He had never been inside a building before, certainly not one like this, and knowing that the only accessible exit was a floor down made him severely edgy, and now his Rider was saying that she wasn't going to be near him.... 

"Kaelianna, I know this is rather... out of character for me. But please, I don't wish to be alone in this place." 

Now very worried, she lowered her hand from the door handle and walked over to him, frowning when he stepped forward and rested his head on her shoulder, his left wing curling around her to keep her close. _Okay, I knew this was taking it's toll on him, but I didn't think he'd be near a panic attack!_ "You're feeling trapped in here, aren't you?" 

"Very much so." 

"Alright. Alright, here. Give me a hand." 

He rose his head as she pulled away and turned in the cramped confines of the room to look at her curiously as she starting yanking the mattress off of the bed, automatically reaching out to help her when it looked like she was going to trip and fall. "What are you doing?" 

"Just trust me. Here, hold this." 

Now left holding a mattress that threatened to topple at every instant, he could only watch her in complete bafflement as she went about dismantling the bed and pushing furniture into a corner. It was only when he realised how much space there now was that he understood. "Ah, Kaeli, there are still times where you amaze me." 

"Keeps you on your toes," she chuckled as she finished shoving a dresser into the corner, turning to help him lay the mattress out the floor moments later. It was a good thing that the bed had been a double, even though he was smaller due to the spell, he was still large enough that it posed space restrictions. Her idea seemed to be the right one, for as soon as she finished dumping the blankets and pillows onto it, he stepped onto the makeshift bed and lay down, arranging things until he was visibly relaxed. "Better?" 

"Almost. Come here, Kaelianna." His tail thumped the floor as she joined him, and he rumbled softly as he tucked his right wing around her, sighing when she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you." 

"For what?" 

"Making this old dragon feel better." 

"You're not that old." 

He chuckled and rested his chin on his crossed forelegs, closing his eyes as she rubbed at his eye ridges, calming him. "More than you realise. But thank you, for staying." 

"Trust me, after three years of always being near you, I wouldn't have had a good night on my own either," she told him with a grin. "Tomorrow, I'll see about hauling most of this junk out to give you more room. Maybe find another mattress and more pillows." 

"Hrrm.... now you're spoiling me." 

"Think of it as repayment for all those times you went out of your way for me." 

"You don't have to." 

"I know." Yawning, she snatched a nearby pillow and lay down on her stomach next to him, feeling him tuck his wing a little more firmly around her to keep her close as he took advantage of his smaller size and rested his head non her back. "Get some sleep. If you thought today was nuts, wait till tomorrow morning." 

"Oh dear..."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Morning conversations

Lashana owns everything except Draco. She wishes she owned Draco, however, because she's certain she could convince him to 'singe' her office building.   
  


Morning conversations   
  
  
  


_BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-- WHAM! WHAM!_

Groaning softly, Kaeli rose her head from her arms and blinked, wondering where she was for a moment before the events of the past day resurfaced in her mind, making her gasp a little as she glanced over at Draco, relief washing through her when she saw that he was sleeping peacefully. 

Fully aware that the screech of sound that had registered to her sensitive hearing was Erica's alarm clock, she set about carefully untangling herself from Draco, wondering how he had managed to curl himself around her so securely without crushing her in the process. She had known that being flung into her time had taken a toll on him, but she had never guessed that he would have been so close to panicking like he had been last night. It hadn't helped her own uneasiness to see him like that at all. 

Sighing, she took a moment to brush her fingers over his snout before getting to her feet and stretching, deciding to go spend a little time with Erica before Draco woke up. She needed to find out exactly what was going on with her friend, and more importantly, why that creature had attacked her. 

~*~ 

"My car for a few more hours of sleep...." 

Yawning, Erica padded into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the coffee maker, her body functioning on automatic as she went about putting fresh water into one of Draggin's bowls and then dumping a can of cat food into the other one. 

A soft footstep behind her made her heart skip a beat, and she snatched up the only thing that was in reach as she whirled, blinking when she met Kaeli's amused gaze. 

"Well, good morning to you too. Mind telling me what you think you're going to do with that bottle of Tabasco?" 

"Beat you to death with it if you scare me like that again! Geez, make more noise next time, will you?" 

The elf chuckled and shook her head a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. You're up early though." 

"Gotta be at work by eight." 

"Work?" 

"Ugh..." The coffee maker made a soft 'click', signalling that the life-giving caffeine was ready, and she shuffled over to it while yawning again. "Sit down. It's a long story. Toast?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

Nodding slightly, Erica dropped four slices of bread into the toaster and started her lengthy explanation of what had happened during the time they were separated, beginning at the point where she had met Maeve and ending at the point where Kaeli had shown up the night before. Her friend stayed quiet throughout it all, watching her intently from where she was sitting at the dining room table, only occasionally nodding in either encouragement or understanding. 

By the time she was finished, not only had they long finished their toasts, but they had migrated onto triple chocolate chip cookies, not the best of breakfasts, but not the worse either. She had just finished refilling her coffee mug for the third time when she glanced at the microwave clock, groaning in disgust when she saw that she was seriously late. 

"What?" Kaeli frowned, having heard the groan and the curse that followed it. 

"M'late!!" she mumbled while chewing her final cookie, taking a moment to wipe crumbs off of her lips before shooting her friend an apologetic glance and bolting upstairs. 

Chuckling softly, Kaeli rose from her chair and helped herself to her friend's kitchen, humming softly as she filled a kettle with water and plugged it in, turning to search the cupboards for a tea bag afterwards. True, she had always been slightly worried about her friend since they had gone their separate ways, wondering if she was alright, and after learning what the past three years had been like, she was relieved that most of her fears had been unfounded. Now, the only thing that remained to be settled was the appearance of the demon. 

_That's not an easy thing, summoning demons. It takes strong magicks and an even stronger will to control them. And that 'mystery admirer' doesn't exactly smack of safety either...._ She frowned slightly as she grabbed a box of Darjeeling tea and took an experimental sniff, shrugging when she figured that it couldn't taste any worse than the herbal tea Kara had made for her once. _That stuff almost ate through my stomach, ugh... okay, back to the demon. I'm definitely going to have to update Draco about this. Maybe he'd know something about it.... at the very least, with him here, Erica's safe. No demon would be stupid enough to attack us when he's here.... I hope._

~*~ 

Draco floated in that place between dreaming and wakefulness, comfortably curled up in his impromptu nest of pillows and blankets. True, he would have rather been outside, he missed the sound of the wind and the smell of the earth, but the familiar scent of his Rider that clung to the material all around him was more than enough to calm his rising anxiety. He didn't want to think about what it would be like to have been pulled into this world without Kaelianna. True, his curiosity would have eventually overridden his instinctual 'fight or flight' reactions, but to be in a world where dragons didn't exist, where this.... 'technology' seemed to rule everyone's actions.... it was more than a little unsettling. He missed the open skies, the air that didn't carry the stench of pollution, and the landscapes that weren't scarred by human buildings.... 

"Hey, Lizard-breath!" 

Startled, he snapped his eyes open and stared at the black cat that was perched on one of the pieces of furniture that Kaeli had pushed against a wall, blinking a few times in incomprehension. _Now I know this world is getting to me. I'm imagining talking felines._ Rumbling softly, he rose his head from the blankets and stretched a little, always keeping an eye on the cat as it calmly sat there and watched him, it's tail swaying back and forth behind itself. 

Shaking his head at his own overactive imagination, he silently rose to his feet and headed for the door, jerking his head back in surprise when Erica bolted past him in the midst of getting dressed. _What in the worlds?_ Curious, he gingerly made his way down the stairs, just barely managing not to trip and tumble down them. He had a feeling that Erica would _not_ be pleased if he crashed through the wall next to the small landing near the base of the stairs. 

The sound of his Rider's voice led him into the kitchen, and he rumbled softly to announce his presence to her as he moved to sit on his haunches by her side, catching her smile as she took advantage of his small size and draped an arm across his shoulders. 

"'Rica, I'm telling you that everything will be _fine_," Kaeli repeated for the fifth time that minute_._ "Will you stop worrying?" 

"No!" 

"What's going on?" Draco whispered to her, watching as Erica ran around the kitchen in a flurry of motion. 

"Oh, it's nothing major. She's late for work and thinks that we can't take care of ourselves." 

"It's not you I'm worried about! It's my house!" 

"We resent the implications of that!" 

"Cope. Dammit! Why can't I find any paper?! Argh, nevermind. C'mere!" 

"Wha... ack!" Kaeli yelped as Erica grabbed her left wrist, pinning her arm against the fridge as she wrote a phone number across her skin with a black pen. "Hey!" 

"This is the number for the store. And this is my cell number, okay?" 

She grumbled out an affirmative and grimaced down at the writing on her arm. "This had better wash off." 

"Yeah, yeah!" Erica said dismissively, waving back at them as she darted around a visibly baffled Draco and snatched her coat off the hook. "See you 'round six!" 

Draco waited until she had dashed out the door before slowly turning his gaze to his Rider. "Um...." 

"Don't ask," she muttered as she rose a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Just.... don't ask."   
  
  
  


~*~*~*~   
  
  
  


Replies! 

RandomWu - Uhh... *embarrassed* I think this long awaited update answers your question about quickly I update. *sheepish look* Sorry about that. It's been a bad few months. I'm going through my own little version of depression, but I did drag myself here to put this chapter up! That counts, right? *crickets chirp* 

Aidan - Anything he can get his claws on if the need arises, I believe. *giggles* Not Draggin' though! Not only would Draco balk at eating him, but he'd have to deal with Erica if he did! *smirk* Gonna be introducing him to the joys of junk food soon enough. Let's see if we can't convert him into a chocoholic *hehe* 

SeabreezeSwiftdeath - Yes. Draco's first impression of the 'modern' world is lacking, to say the least. We'll just go and get him hooked on TV *snicker* 

Mala Zloca - Pocket-sized Draco... *thinks about that* Hey! I may do that! *brainstorms* That's a neat idea that! Maybe I can try to fit that in somewhere... *runs off to start scribbling down ideas*   
  
  



	6. Work Day

I wish I owned Draco, but I don't. So no sending of the lawyers please.

Chapter 6 - Work Day

"Draggin'! You mangy little flea-bitten bastard! If you trip me _one more time..._! Argh! Draco, smite him!"

The dragon chuckled from where he was stretched out on the living room floor, raising his gaze from the book that was open before him as he looked over at a rather annoyed Kaeli, rumbling at her in amusement as she growled in exasperation and threw herself face down onto the couch. "Honestly, Kaeli, it's just a cat."

"Gonna be a very dead cat soon enough," she muttered as she rolled onto her side to look at him, her gaze darkening when Draggin' smugly strolled into the room, proceeded to plant himself right in her line of sight, and start to lick himself. Repeatedly. "Ugh!"

Trying very hard not to laugh, Draco curled his tail around himself and lightly shoved the cat out of her view, receiving a nasty hiss and a bite to his scaled haunch that served only to tickle him. "Stop that," he muttered to the animal, glaring at it when it settled itself down near him and batted at his tail-spade.

"Ha! Serves you right for laughing at me," Kaeli groused, shifting on the couch until she was lying on her back, enabling her to stare up at the ceiling catatonically for a moment before her view was blocked by a smirking dragon. "Oh, let me wallow in irritation, will you?"

"I'd really rather not," he answered as he dropped to his stomach on the floor just in front of the couch and twisted his neck so that he could rest his head against her side. "You won't be very pleasant company if I did.... excuse me I have to yell at the cat. Stop biting me!!"

"I swear he does this on purpose," she grumbled as Draco growled and shoved the cat away with his tail again. Sighing, she sat up and stretched, forcing tense muscles to relax before she moved to sit on the floor, settling herself in the curve of Draco's curled up body, wanting a little comfort and knowing that he felt the same. "So.... how's the reading coming?"

"A little slower than I'd like. Your language changed a lot during the centuries. Though it's a bit easier since I'm skimming over some parts."

"Cheater."

"Hmpft. I don't think I need to know the blatant details of an 'Aardvarks' lifestyle considering that it isn't even in this part of the world."

"....point."

"That's what I thought. Though I must say.... you don't seem to be too pleased to be back here, little dreamer. I thought you'd be happy to be back in your time."

"I am.... sort of...."

"Sort of?"

"It's nice to be back and all, don't get me wrong. I missed Erica, and the essentials - like chocolate and indoor plumbing - but.... it's not home, y'know? It's loud and noisy and cramped, and the air reeks something fierce. I miss the forests. I miss being able to tap into nature and not have the urge to be violently ill because of how badly it's polluted."

He sighed and nodded in understanding, gently resting his tail across her legs as he turned to nuzzle her shoulder. "Did you tell Erica?"

"No. And I'm not going to. She's got enough problems right now, ones that we really have to talk about."

"Oh? Like what?"

She twisted so that she was facing him, shifting to sit lotus-style as she did so. "That thing that attacked her? It was a demon. The thing is, summoning demons requires major magicks. Even I couldn't do something like that, not without knocking myself out in the process. And whoever this guy is that summoned that thing, I think they know where 'Rica lives. She got a present from a secret admirer last night, just before we showed up."

"Drat. Then whoever this is.... might know that you and I are here."

"Yeah, but I think we're safe for now. I just don't know for how long."

~*~

Had the presence been able to control the boys body when the child was awake, it would have calmed it's temper by laying waste to everything within reach. Unfortunately, since the boy was very much conscious - if one could count doing inventory being conscious - it could do nothing but broil in it's own anger. 

It had sensed them last night, at the edges of the boy's mystic senses as he experimented with how far he could extend his reach on the child's mind. The two travellers were bound to cause him no end of trouble, especially since, combined, their own magicks rivalled that of the boy's. If the witch had summoned them as protectors, it was going to make his job a lot harder. 

But a light gave birth to twisted hope in it's thoughts, as the realisation that a night of power was in reach. And on that night, he would strike, claiming the boy's body as his own and dealing out his own personal version of fear. And, oh, what fun it would be....

~*~

"_Tony!_"

"Ack! Yes, Miss Johnston?!"

Erica sighed and folded her arms over her chest as she gazed down at the teen that had fallen asleep at the on the boxes of deliveries in the storage room, idly wondering why he looked so ragged and pale. "Kiddo, you look horrible. Maybe you should go home and get some rest, hmm?"

"I-I'm fine, ma'am, really. I just haven't been sleeping well, I suppose. I'm always tired..." Tony glanced down at the inventory list and scowled at his garbled writing for a moment before blinking and returning his gaze to his boss, who was looking at him critically.

"'Tis the time of the year," Erica smiled. "Autumn tends to do this to people, especially since there's less sunlight these days. Look, head on home, alright? You'll do me no good if you drop dead from exhaustion on my floor." When it looked like he was going to protest, she fixed him with her best 'don't argue with me you will not win' look and smirked. "I'll even pay you for a full shift if you get going right now."

"You're sure?"

"Do I look like I've gone senile? Of course I'm sure. Get goin'! Besides, you don't want to get sick now, not with All Hallow's Eve only a few days away, do you?"

The reminder lifted his spirits, and he mustered up a genuine grin as he gathered up his things from his nearby locker. "No way!"

Chuckling to herself, Erica calmly watched him head out the back door before shaking her head and going back to the store front. _I swear, kids these days...._ A quick glance at the clock told her that it was a little over an hour to closing, and she smiled as she reached for the phone and dialled home, snickering when the cry of a startled 'what was _that?!_' sounded in the background. "Scared the dragon, did I?"

"Just a little," Kaeli grinned, twirling the phone cord around her fingers as she leaned back against the fridge, smiling at Draco as he walked into the kitchen and looked at her curiously. "I'll have you know that we haven't destroyed your house, though we've come close to killing your cat."

"No harming of the pets."

"I make no promises. That thing's a royal pain in the arse."

"Then you two ought to get along nicely."

"Why you little--"

"You want pizza?"

"What?"

"Pizza. You know, cheese, pepperoni, tomato sauce?"

"I know what a pizza is."

"So? You want some for supper? I'm almost finished here, thought I'd pick up food."

"Sure."

"Kewl. What does el walking flamethrower eat?"

"Um.... pick up a couple of chickens...."

Draco perked up from where he was listening in. "I'd prefer a sheep!"

"Sheep aren't all that easy to come by in the city, Draco."

"Drat."

Turning a little to hide her grin, Kaeli snickered into the phone. "Chickens. Cooked."

"Bleh."

"What was that?"

"Draco being immature. When'll you be back?"

"Oh, two hours, give or take. I have to do a bit of shopping. Hallow's Eve is coming."

"Is it?" Kaeli straightened and looked around, spotting a calendar nearby. "What day is it?"

"The twenty-ninth. Halloween's on the Saturday, do you know how nuts the kid's'll be?"

"I remember."

"Right. Ach, customer. Gotta go!"

Kaeli blinked as the dial tone sounded in her ear and pulled the phone back to look at it. "Have a nice day to you too. Hmpft." Shaking her head, she placed the receiver back onto the cradle and turned in time to see Draco rear up on his hind legs, wings spread slightly to help him keep his balance as his horned carapace brushed the ceiling. "What are you doing?"

"There's something with the most intriguing scent up here," he muttered as he carefully stepped over to the fridge, looking at the two cupboards that were just above the appliance for a moment before gingerly tugging the doors open and blinking at the brightly coloured bags. "What in the worlds is a.... 'May West'?"

"Ooh! Chocolate! Grab that for me. And the bag of Oreo's next to it."

He smirked and glanced at her. "Not until you answer my question."

"Wisecracking.... They're like desserts. You'll like them, really."

"You're sure Erica won't mind?"

"If she didn't want us to have any she should have hidden them in a better spot," she grinned as she grabbed the bags that he handed to her and ducked past him. "C'mon. I'll introduce you to the mind-numbingness of daytime talk shows."

"If it's mind-numbing then why do you watch it?"

"....because there's nothing better to watch until seven?"

"....touché."

~*~

"Hey! I'm home!" Erica called as she unlocked the front door and walked in, blinking when she stepped into the living room and saw a sleeping Kaeli partially draped over Draco, who smiled and fluttered a wing to her in greeting before tapping the TV remote with a talon and muting the sound. Chuckling, she transferred the two pizza boxes to her left hand and reached out to turn on the lights, bathing the darkened room in a warm glow, and she sighed when she saw the state of her room. 

Books littered the floor, most of them set out of the way in little towering piles while a few lay open close to the dragon. She was less than pleased to see the very empty bags of her chocolate stash lying well within the duos reach. "Enjoyed your day I see."

"Sorry. I'll clean up after," he whispered to her, not wanting to wake his Rider just yet. Keeping his right wing and tail curled around Kaeli, he shifted a little and looked over at Erica, grimacing a little when she picked up the empty bag of Oreo cookies and arched an eyebrow at him. "....they were really good."

"I know. That's why I was saving them."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Uh huh." Hiding a grin at the dragon's sheepish expression, she reached out and nudged Kaeli in the ribs with her booted foot. "Yo. Wake up. I need some help with the groceries that are in the car."

Swatting at the thing that was interrupting her sleep, Kaeli rolled over and snuggled closer to the scaled warmth next to her, her mind reaching the lowest level of coherency just long enough for her to mumble out a reply. "Jus f've mre mints, Draco...."

Erica smirked and looked at the dragon, wondering if it was just her imagination or if his cheeks really did seem darker. "Do me a favour and wake sleeping beauty there. I'll go dump this stuff in the kitche-- ack!" 

The sound of the doorbell being repeatedly pressed jolted Kaeli into unwelcome consciousness, and she exchanged panicked looks with Erica before scrambling to her feet. "Draco! In the kitchen, quick!"

"You go with him!" Erica whispered as she hurried to the front door, waiting until the dragon was safely hidden before grabbing the handle.

"Me? Why?"

"Because you don't look hum--" She cut herself off with a beaming smile as she pulled the door open. "Mrs. Lambert! Hi! What brings you here?"

Kaeli moved to stand behind Erica and blinked at the woman that was in the doorway. 'Mrs. Lambert' was well into her sixties it seemed, with short curled greying hair that accenting her piercing dark eyes that were framed by horned rimmed glasses. She was thin, from what Kaeli could tell - it was hard to tell under the thick wool housecoat she had wrapped around her - but judging by her claw-like hands, the woman needed to eat a few more cookies.

"Miss Johnston! This is your last warning!" Mrs. Lambert drawled, her accent thick and her voice high-pitched. "Keep that demonic cat of yours away from my babies! It delights itself in frightening them!" She gestured to one of her said 'babies' as she spoke, the small quivering form of a Chihuahua looking up at them from her hands with overly-large brown eyes that seemed to be too big for it's face. "The next time this happens, I will have to send a formal report to the police... My word! Whatever have you done to yourself?!"

Erica's mind flailed for a moment before she realised that Mrs. Lambert was speaking to Kaeli. "Uh.... she's...."

"Just trying out my make-up for Halloween," Kaeli grinned, making sure to show her small fangs as she did so. "You like?"

Mrs. Lambert stared at her for a minute longer before turning away with a sniff. "The ears need work," she said loftily as she walked away. 

It was a good thing that she didn't look back, else she might have died of shock from the gesture that Kaeli sent her way.


	7. Doubts

_We don't own Draco._   


Doubts   
  


"Honestly, Kaelianna, that behaviour was highly uncalled for," Draco frowned, looking over at his Rider where she sat at the dining room table, her arms folded over her chest as she sulked. 

"My ears so do not need work," came the muttered reply. 

Erica rolled her eyes and set a plate in front of her friend, handing her a knife as she did so. "Take your frustrations out on the pizza and cut me a slice, would you?" As the elf nodded sullenly, she turned and gestured for Draco to follow her into the hallway, whispering to him when she figured that they were out of evesdropping range. "Take it easy on her, she's back in the place where everyone hated her because of how she looked, remember?" 

"I would have thought she'd have put that behind her," the dragon murmured in reply, sending a worried glance back towards his Rider. "I've never seen any indication...." 

"You wouldn't have. Not when you two were in the other time. But here.... old ghosts, y'know?" 

He frowned at the reminder. "I hadn't thought of that." 

"You've been highly distracted. It's understandable," Erica shrugged as she headed back to the elf. "Hey, you started without me!" 

Kaeli shrugged and took another bite of her all-dressed pizza. "Had to do something while you two were over there whispering about me." 

"All good things, I assure you," Draco rumbled as he settled himself onto his haunches next to her chair, playfully resting his chin on her shoulder as he looked at what she was eating. "I hope that tastes better than it looks." 

"It does," she answered, glancing at him curiously. "Wanna try?" 

"It won't make him sick, right?" Erica asked, really not wanting to have to deal with a nauseaus dragon anytime during her lifespan. 

"I've seen what he eats. Trust me, this is tame," Kaeli chuckled, her mood lightening as she cut a piece for Draco and held it out to him. 

"I resent that," he muttered as he ate the offering, guessing that his surprise at the excellent taste of it was evident on his face, judging by the smirks the two women were giving him. 

"And thus, we've now managed to convert him to our lifestyle." Erica giggled at the look the dragon shot her and reached for another piece of pizza, turning to look at Kaeli as she did so. "So! Shall we plan what we're going to do on All Hallow's Eve?" 

"I'm guessing by the huge amount of candy you bought that you're handing out stuff to the kids.... other than that, what else is there?" 

"Tsk tsk. How little you remember." The sound of a loud crunch caught her attention, and she blinked as she glanced around in confusion. 

"He eats the bones," Kaeli explained with a grin, gesturing towards the dragon that had turned his attention away from them and was making short work of the three cooked chickens Erica had given him. 

"Good lords why?" 

"Dunno. Does it matter?" 

"Probably not. Anyway, I can't believe you forgot about the best part of Halloween." 

"And that would be?" 

"The parties, stupid, duh." 

Draco rolled his eyes and scooped the last chicken into his jaws, leaving the two to bicker as he headed back to the living room, sighing as he comfortably stretched out on the floor. _Well, at least my appetite seems to have shrunken along with the rest of me. Three days ago these wouldn't have been enough to be called a snack._

"Hmpft. Well, aren't we pampered?" 

He jerked his head towards the irritated grumble and stared at Draggin', frowning a little as he glanced over at the two girls who were still talking to each other, then back to the cat. _My imagination is playing tricks on me..._

"Take a picture, it'll last longer, Lizard-breath." 

This time he lunged to his feet, wings mantling as he backed away from this odd creature. "Erica! The cat talks!" 

The two women blinked and looked over at the dragon that was backing away from the cat while pointing at it and instisting that it had just spoken. Biting her lower lip, Kaeli sent a wary look at Erica, who looked just as baffled as she did. "Maybe all this junk food is making him hallucinate. There's all sort of chemicals and stuff that he's not used to eating." 

"Maybe.... Ack! Draco!" Moving quickly, Erica jumped out of her chair and went to scoop Draggin' into her arms, lifting him out of the reach of the dragon that had moved to hit it with a claw. "Stop that!" 

"But it...." He trailed off at the glare that Erica sent him and grumbled, stiffling a snarl when the animal shot him a smug look and stuck it's tongue out at him. "There! See?!" 

Kaeli looked at the cat that was licking it's paw, then over to her dragon. "No more chocolate for you." 

~*~ 

"Draco? Draco, where are you?" 

He growled without looking up from the book, hearing Kaeli's footsteps coming closer as she neared his room. He had retreated into this small doubtful sanctuary with three more volumes of encyclopaedias nearly two hours ago, annoyed at having a cat taunt him and not having his own Rider believe a single word he said. It was so frustrating that he had taken his irritation out on a pillow, shredding the weak material to pieces under his talons. 

He had _seen_ the infernal creature speak, heard it's mocking voice coming from it's lips - did cat's _have_ lips? - and even when he had sworn on his honor, Kaelianna still looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Riders weren't supposed to do that. If she had told him that the cat had spoken, he would have believed her, so why couldn't it go the other way around? 

"Draco? Why didn't you answer?" Kaeli frowned at the dragon as she leaned against the doorway, her gaze softening when she saw the shredded remains of what might have once been a pillow shoved into a corner. Sighing, she walked over to him and sat on the edge of the mattress he was lying on, surprise running through her when he didn't so much as glance at her. "Draco...." 

The silence ate at both of them, and it was only when Draco found himself re-reading the same paragraph for the fifth time without knowing what it was about that he sighed and rose his gaze to her. "Why is it so hard for you to believe me, Kaelianna? You know me better than anyone who walks this world in either time, do you really think that I'd make up such a thing?" 

She shook her head and sighed. "No. Not intentionally anyway." 

That last part pulled a rather angry growl from him as he moved to get to his feet, glancing back at her when she grabbed his right foreclaw. "Let me go, Kaelianna." 

"Draco, wait. Just, let me finish, okay? Please?" She felt him tense before he nodded and gently placed his left claw over her hand. "Erica and I were talking about something. See, in this time, humans use chemicals... special ingredients to make food taste better and last longer. Sometimes, some humans have bad reactions to them because there's just so much of it in foods these days. In some cases it makes people very sick. But sometimes the effects are more... camoflauged." 

"You think I was imagining it?" 

"All I'm saying is that in the past two days you've been eating foods that your body has never had before. Quite frankly none of the stuff you've been eating was meant for dragon consumption. Most animals and pets in this time _can't_ eat human food because it makes them sick, sometimes it can even kill them. Can you at least agree that maybe, just maybe, you _were_ imagining it?" 

He sighed and looked at her, seeing the very real worry in her eyes. "....do you think I was imagining it? Truthfully, Kaelianna, do you?" 

"I.... I don't know, Draco." Torn, she lowered her gaze from his and stared at the claw that was still covering her hand. "I know that you'd never lie to me, and we've seen stranger things than talking cats, that's for sure.... but I also know what some of those chemicals and preservatives can do to people. And if the cat _does_ talk, why are you the only one it's talked to? It's been living with 'Rica for two years, she hasn't heard anything from it." 

Faced with the knowledge that she had just supplied him, Draco echoed his previous sigh and pulled her close, taking comfort in her presence as he draped a wing over her. "Perhaps you're right. I'm sorry, Kaeli, I shouldn't have gotten angry at you." 

"S'okay. We're both on edge, something was bound to happen sooner or later." 

"I suppose." 

"And let's not mention the pillow's demise to Erica, okay?" 

"Wasn't planning to." 

"Good." She fell silent for a moment, then turned and threw her arms around his neck, taking advantage of his smaller size as she held him, listening to his soft purr as he awkwardly returned the embrace. "You wanna come watch a movie? It's like TV, only with no annoying commercials. I think you'd like it too. It's called 'Braveheart'. It's the story of William Wallace, a thirteenth century Scottish freedom fighter who led a rebellion against English tyranny. 'Rica's waiting for us downstairs." Grinning, she pulled back and looked at him mischivously. "And we locked the cat in the basement." 

He chuckled at her playful tone and nodded as he rose to his feet and held a claw out to her, relieved that they had returned to their normal close-knit relationship. "I'd love to. Shall we?" 

"Are you two coming or what?!" Erica yelled from where she was impatiently waiting on the living room couch. 

Rolling her eyes, Kaeli stepped past Draco and headed for the stairs, yelling out her exasperated retort as she did so. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, we're coming already! Nag!" 

"Bitch!"   
  
  
  


TBC 


	8. Helping Out

_No ownage of Draco happening here. Unfortunately._   


Helping Out   
  
  


"_Rachel!!_" 

"Ack!" Her heart nearly stopping from fright, Kaeli bolted upright where she was sprawled over the couch and promptly fell off of it, dimly aware of Draco's loud 'oof!' as she landed on him. The last thing she remembered was Mel Gibson screaming 'freeeedoommm!' and Erica muttering how it should be illegal to kill off nummy characters, and as she blinked at the ceiling from her not-so-comfortable poisition on a dazed Draco, she figured that she must have slept on the couch all night. 

The cause of her rude awakening raced into the room then, not even pausing to ask if they were alright as the flustered human grabbed the collar of the her t-shirt and shook her violently, her yell shrill and panicked. 

"_Rachel! _I mean, Kaeli, I mean, oh hell! _You have to help me!_ Tony just called in sick and it's the day before Halloween! The shop's gonna be _packed!_ I need someone to come help me!" 

Dangerously close to throwing up, Kaeli was extremely relieved when Draco snatched her out of a babbling Erica's iron grasp, and she clung to him weakly for a little bit until she was fairly certain that she wasn't going to do anything unsightly. "'Rica, I didn't understand a word you just said." 

Huffing, Erica planted her fists on her hips and glared down at the elf, speaking like one would to a small child. "Tony, my helper at the store, is sick. It's the day before Halloween. The shop is going to be packed. I can't do it by myself. I volunteer you to help me." 

Draco frowned. "What about me?" 

"You're a big dragon, you can stay home by yourself. Kaeli, come on, we have to get you some more presentable clothes." 

She groaned pitifully as Erica grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet, pulling her towards the stairs. "But I don't wanna!" 

"Too bad!" 

"I came here to help you with the demon, not with psycho shopping fiends!" 

"Isn't that the same thing?" 

"Ericaaaaa!" 

Draco rolled his eyes as he listened to them stomp upstairs and yawned as he stretched out on his back, tail lashing slightly as he idly scratched at his chest. Rapid footsteps coming down the stairs moments later made him right himself and rise to his feet, chuckling at his Rider that was still being pulled around by Erica. 

"Let. Go!" Snarling, Kaeli wrenched her arm free and glared at her friend, irritably tugging at the hip-hugging blue jeans and the green v-necked sweater she now wore. "'Rica, have you forgotten that I'm an Elf?! I can't go out there!" 

"Not looking like that, no." 

"Oooh no! No! You are _not_ putting a spell on me!" 

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Draco chuckled, earning himself a nasty glare that only served to make him laugh harder. "Now, Kaeli, it can't be _that_ bad." 

"Exactly," Erica grinned. "Now hold still." 

Grumbling, Kaeli folded her arms over her chest and fumed, eyeing her friend warily as Erica rose a hand in her direction. 

"Okay.... um.... gotta make up a spell so...." Taking a breath to steel herself, Erica closed her eyes and concentrated. "_My best friend, Rachel. I think she's tops. Make her look human, so she doesn't make the customer's hearts stop._" 

Draco blinked. "That...." 

"....was horrible!" Kaeli muttered sourly. "You don't seriously expect that to work, do you?" 

"Actually," Erica grinned as she pulled her friend over to the hallway mirror. "It did." 

"Okay, this.... is going to take some getting used to," Kaeli whispered as she stared into a face that didn't retain any inkling of her Elven heritage or of her shared Lifesource with Draco. What once was lush coppery hair with golden streaks was a plain brown, her vibrant green eyes a calm hazel. It was like staring at a stranger. "I still can't believe that crappy spell worked." 

"Hey! No where does it say that I have to be the world's greatest poet to cast spells!" 

"It should," Kaeli grumbled under her breath as she walked over to Draco, seeing him hesitate a little before he stepped forward and nuzzled her shoulder reassuringly, turning so that she could lean up against his shoulder and loosely curl her arms around his neck. "Will you be alright?" 

"I've been taking care of myself longer than you've been alive, little dreamer," he chuckled as he twisted to met her worried gaze, inwardly missing her more familiar appearance. "I can manage for a day." 

She sighed and closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against the side of his arched neck, tightening her hold on him as she did so. _I don't want to go out there...._

Frowning at the abrupt change in her, Draco wrapped her up in his right wing and sent a glance at Erica, growling softly when she threw her arms into the air in exasperation and stomped outside, slamming the door behind her. Once he was sure they were alone, he carefully settled himself down onto his haunches and rose his right claw to lightly rub her back, smiling warmly as he felt her touch his chest, stroking the scales that covered his half-heart. "Kaelianna. There's nothing for you to be frightened of. You're stronger than you were three years ago." 

"No I'm not. Not when I'm in this time," she whispered, shivering a little as she listened to his heart beat, her own pulse in perfect sync with his. He didn't say anything in reply as he brushed his cheek against the side of her head and pulled her a little closer, the contact giving her the reassurance that she needed. Their heartbeats seemed to get louder then, the inhuman rhythm seemingly taking over her thoughts until it was all she knew. Warmth flooded through her then, accompanied by a torrent of emotions that pushed her insecurities aside, obliterating them as if they were nothing but wisps of air. 

_'My strength to purify your weakness. Remember, Kaeli?'_

She jerked in shock at the gentle rumble that echoed through her thoughts, and would have fallen over had Draco not steadied her, his gaze dancing with amusement as she looked at him with wide eyes. "H-how..." 

_'There are still some powers of the heart that I have not taught you, little dreamer.'_ Smiling, he lightly rested a talon over her heart, switching back to more normal methods of speaking as he did so. "It isn't something that can be easily done or learned, this speaking through the heart. But as I once told you, the heart does not only relay pain, but emotions as well. You have nothing to fear, Kaelianna, after all," he paused and playfully winked at her, knowing that it would lighten her mood, "you have the power of a dragon at your disposal! Who else can boast that?" 

The last bit had the desired effect, and Kaeli shook her head a little as she chuckled. "You're right. Hell, you're _always_ right.... know-it-all." 

Grinning at the teasing nickname, he lightly pricked her with his talons while using his right wing-claw to tickle her, laughing when she yelped and wriggled out of his hold. "Go with, Erica, little dreamer. You'll be fine. I bet you'll be so busy you won't even notice the time passing. I, meanwhile, will be lying here and - what did you call it? - rotting my brain with daytime soap operas?" 

She snickered and nodded. "Yeah. Lucky you." On impluse, she hugged him again and lightly kissed his snout, hearing his embarrassed rumble as his cheeks darkened. "Thank you." 

"Anytime, little dreamer. Anytime. Now, you'd better hurry, I think Erica's nigh ready to drag you out of the house." 

"Huh? Oh, crap. I forgot." Grimacing at the reminder, she hurriedly ran over to the entranceway and pulled on one of Erica's spare pair of sneakers, hopping from foot to foot as she did so. "I'll try to convince her to get something good for supper, like steak or something, okay?" An annoyed yell from outside made her roll her eyes, and she shot a mischievous grin towards the dragon as she swung the front door open and headed out to join her impatient friend. "I'll see you later, Draco!" 

He chuckled softly as he listened to them bicker for a moment before leaving in that odd metal thing Erica called a 'truck'. Even now, with the distance widening between them, he could still sense the elf's emotions, an after effect of having momentarily bound them so closely by speaking to her through the heart. It wasn't something lightly done, either. Usually, such intimate contact was simply not done, for while it enabled the two holders of the heart to hear one another's thoughts, it also left them completely open in every sense of the term - a dangerous position in any situation. Especially since it was so easy to read each other's feelings, thus making it a true 'baring of the soul'. 

But once again, he had found himself doing everything in his power to protect her. A chuckle rumbled out of him as he remembered various times where she had sought such reassurance from him, bringing about an almost instinctual urge to care for her. There were times where he knew he treated her like a parent dragon would a hatchling, her smaller size constantly reminding him that, unlike him, she could be easily harmed. Not that he dared to tell her such things. She may have been small in stature, but her temper was something that even he didn't want to face. 

All in all, he still thanked the stars that she had been sent to him. Without her presence during the ugliness of three years before, he knew that things would not have turned out as they did. There would have been a victory, but at price that he no longer wished to pay. 

Berating himself for even thinking of such dark things, Draco made hs way back into the living room and took the liberty to haul the cushions off of the couch, setting them on the floor as an impromtu mattress before dropping down onto them, idly wondering if he'd ever be able to get used to sleeping on just grass and dirt after these few days of luxury. 

"Well, well, well. Look who got knocked off his pedestal. Man, you're ruining my gig here! She didn't even feed me!" 

Draco blinked slowly and looked up from his inspection of the tv remote to look at the cat that was sitting a little ways away from his left haunch. "Why do you only talk when the others aren't around?" 

If it had been possible, the cat would have smacked himself in the forehead. "Duh. Ta make you look nuts to get the attention away from you. Unlike you, I have to _work_ at getting the girls to fawn over me. I can't just give them a look and have 'em cuddle up all nice and close, y'know!" 

"Excuse me?!" 

"What? Oh, don't tell me you didn't notice. You show up there and _wham!_ The cat's eattin' kibble whilethe lizardgets freshly cooked chicken! Kibble! Do you know what that stuff tastes like?!" 

"Er...." 

"That's what I thought. Bad enough you got the new one attached you ya, did you have to make my Erica go gaga over ya too?" 

"Gaga? Wait, _your_ Erica?" 

"Boy. For someone who keeps saying he's smart, you sure don't act like it." 

"Watch it, furball. You're flammable." 

"Ooo. The lizard used a big word. I'm shakin'. Really." 

Seriously beginning to wonder how the feline's previous owner hadn't strangled this insolent creature to death, Draco shifted again and quickly reached out to 'sense' Kaeli's presence, the familiar warmth of her soul calming his rising anger. "Look here, I'm sorry if my being here is.... inconvenient, but it isn't as if I had much of a choice. I couldn't very well let Kaeli come back to his barbaric time by herself." 

Bright yellow eyes widened in mixed surprise and insult. "Barbaric? Us? Hello, we have _indoor plumbing!_" 

"Perhaps. But your air is foul, the earth polluted and scarred with roads. And I refuse to even begin to speak of the state of the waterways and forests! The people here do not live in harmony with the land, they destroy it!" 

"But it's _indoor plumbing!_" 

Draco sighed heavily and rose a claw to massage his already aching temple. "This isn't going to be the peaceful day I was hoping for...." 

~*~ 

"Good Goddess, how can you do this every day?" Kaeli groaned as she finished moving another inventory box, then leaned against the pile, wiping the back of her right hand across her forehead, puffing out a breath to force her hair out of her eyes. 

"Practice," Erica smiled, patting her friend on the arm as she brushed past her and moved to stand behind the cash, having seen a small group of teenagers heading in that direction. "Practice and hired help." 

"I'm not hired help. Actually, does this mean I get paid?" 

"I'll deduct it from your rent." 

"Oh _joy._ I'm sure, Draco will be _thrilled._" 

"Don't get snippy. Besides, it's not like it's hard work. It could be worse. I could be getting a shipment of books." 

She groaned in mock pain at that. "You've made your point, thank you very much." 

Erica gave her friend a dazzling smile as she tallied up the prices for the teens. "You're welcome!" 

Grumbling, Kaeli opened one of the boxes and peered into it, a single eyebrow arching upwards when she saw the numerous clear boxes that contained various semi-precious stones. "This is worse than books. No wonder it was so heavy!" Shaking her head, she resigned herself to another four hours of work and bent to her task, unpacking the boxes one by one, pausing every now and again to admire the colour of the rocks, a slight smile gracing her lips when she recognised some of them from what she had seen in Draco's main cave back home. 

Humming one of the songs that Draco usually sang when he was in a good mood, she went about placing the fist sized pieces of amethyst and quartz onto the main counter, knowing that since the store was presently empty that Erica would price the items and place them on the appropriate shelf. At the bottom of the box, was books, which didn't really surprise her all that much, and Kaeli gave her friend a look as she unpacked them, scowling at the chuckle that Erica failed to smother. "Could be worse, huh?" 

"I didn't know!" Erica laughed, avoiding the other woman's gaze as she went through her order list and ticked off the items she had received, pausing to put little price stickers on the stones before setting them aside to shelve later on. "So, what's it like, living with...." she paused as someone entered the store and winked. "_Him?_" 

Kaeli rolled her eyes. "Will your eternal meddling ever end?" 

"No. No it won't." 

"We help out where we can. We....uh.... 'travel' a lot...." 

Erica snickered at the horrible answer. "You suck." 

"Oh, go to hell! How am I expected to talk about...." Kaeli paused and lowered her voice to a whisper. "_Him _when we're in public?! It's not like dragons are common place!" 

"Alright, alright, you have a point. I'm sorry I brought it up." 

"Hmpft." 

"Oh, don't be like that. You know I didn't mean anything by it. Well, not unless you're the jealous type." 

Kaeli's right eye twitched. 

"Or not," Erica murmured quickly, smiling innocently when Kaeli glared at her. "Well I didn't mean it like _that._ Get your mind out of the gutter, girl." 

"If it's there it's _your_ fault," Kaeli shot back as she finished unpacking the books, then demolished the cardboard box, setting it aside as she went about unpacking the second. The soflty tingling of the front door drew her gaze then, and she blinked as a teenage boy ran into the store, his breath coming in heavy pants. 

"Miss Johnston! I know I said I couldn't come, but I knew you'd need the...." Tony trailed off as his gaze settled on the woman who was unpacking the new shipment and blinked. "....help? Y-you hired someone else?" 

"Huh? Oh no. Not at all. Tony, this is Rachel, my best-friend. She's just helping me out for today," Erica explained with a smile, then looked at him worriedly. "Shouldn't you be home in bed? You're awfully pale." 

"You replaced me?" 

"Only for one day. She's just visiting," Erica said as she walked around the counter and rested a hand on his forehead. "Dear Gods, you're burning up! You should be at home, resting! Your mother's going to kill you. Rach, get him some water will you? I'm gonna call his mother." 

"Sure thing, Rica," Kaeli grinned, steering Tony over to a chair and then going to retrieve a bottle of water from the small bar fridge in the back. "Here ya go. I think Rica has some Tylenol around here somewhere. You want a couple?" 

"No," he muttered coldly. "I'm fine." 

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Kid, don't worry. I'm not here to take your job. I'm just helping 'Rica out this once." 

"Her name is Erica," he grumbled, eyeing her warily. 

"I've known her a lot longer than you," she chuckled. "I get to call her 'Rica. _You_ can call her Miss Johnston." She turned back to her task of unpacking the boxes as she spoke, glancing at him again when he gave a snort of derision. "What?" 

"You're doing it wrong," Tony told her, almost condescendingly. "You're supposed to check off the items on the shipping list and then give them to Miss Johnston to price." 

"We're doing it a different way today," Kaeli replied, not liking his attitude. A chill wracked it's way down her spine then, and she hugged herself as the skin on her arms went up in goosebumps, her gaze cutting to Tony as he shot her a particularly suspicious glare. _Damn, what's with this kid?_ Hiding her unease, she turned her attention back to her task, her hair curtaining forward to hide her expression from him as she glanced at him, not liking the look he was giving her. 

"Okay, kiddo, your mom's on her way," Erica said cheerfully as she rejoined them, completely missing the glare that Tony sent Kaeli. "I really appreciate you coming in, Tony, but your health is more important, okay? Believe me, I can handle the store on my own for a little while." 

He looked like he was going to argue, then thought better of it. "Yes, ma'am," he muttered, downcast. Sighing, he stood and headed for the door. "I'm gonna go wait outside. Mom'll be here soon." 

"What's with him?" Kaeli asked once the teen had left the shop. "He acts like this job is his lifeline." 

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing grand. I think he has a small crush on me, nothing special." 

"I'd say it's more than a small crush," she muttered, sending a wary glance after the boy. "He's a little.... odd." 

"And of course, you would be the judge of what's odd." 

"Erica, I'm serious. There's something going on with that kid. He gives me the creeps." 

"You're just being anti-social." 

"Need I remind you about the demon that came after you? That kid's got power, Erica." 

Erica's brown gaze turned cold as she glared at her friend. "You expect me to believe that Tony's behind the demon? Kaeli, that's absurd! He's just a kid!" 

"And how many kids have a crush on you to the point that they get jealous at the smallest things?" 

That made her pause. "He was jealous?" 

"Insanely. If looks could kill I'd be lying dead on the floor," Kaeli muttered. "I'm not saying that he did it, but I'm saying that to me, he's acting really suspicious." 

Her friend sucked in a breath and held it for a moment. "Maybe you're right...." 

Kaeli sighed and reached out to lay a hand on the redheads shoulder. "Look, I'm not saying that you're completely wrong. I'm not infalliable. Maybe _you're_ right. I just don't want to see you get hurt again, 'Rica." As she spoke, she lightly trailed her fingers over the bulk of the bandage on her friends arm. "You're important to me, I don't want to lose you." 

"I know," Erica smiled, raising her gaze to Kaeli's. "I know. Let's save this conversation for later. Maybe Draco will have something to add to it." 

"Deal. In the meantime, let's just try to survive the rest of this day, because I see a group of six people our way." 

"Highschool just let out," Erica smirked as she headed back behind the counter. "Batten down the hatches, it's gonna be a long afternoon."   
  
  
  
  
  


TBC 


	9. Admissions

_We don't own Draco. Unfortunately._   
  


Admissions   
  
  


"Ughhhh. This was a long day," Erica sighed as she unlocked the front door and toed it open, hearing a low grumble from Kaeli as the elf followed her into the house. She had already lifted the glamour from her friend, returning her to her copper and golden haired glory and removing the human guise that she had been forced to wear all day. 

Things had gone steadily downhill since around three o'clock. Between the horde of inquisitive teenagers that had swamped the store, a fight between two football jocks and the group of morons who had somehow recognised Kaeli from their highschool days, Erica was about ready to yank out a fistfull of her hair. Those idiots in the pickup truck had circled around the block once they had seen her friend, their laughter loud on the winds as they had thrown the remainder of their McDonalds meals on the poor elf, driving her fragile self-esteem into the ground. 

The only bright light for the day was resting on the floor of the livingroom, and Erica sent a pleading look towards Draco as Kaeli pushed past her and bolted upstairs. Sighing she met the dragon's baffled and concerned gaze, her shoulders sagging under her own worry for her friend. "It's been a long day," she muttered as she hung up her coat, then turned to head into the kitchen, stopping short when a scaled form leapt to his feet and moved to block her path. "Draco, trust me on this, she wants to be left alone right now." 

He growled softly and sidestepped to keep her from walking around him, flaring his wings. "What happened?" 

She hesitated, then gave in. "Some people we knew back in highschool recognised her. They.... they threw their food at her as they drove by. No, wait! Don't go up there yet! She's not in the best of moods!" 

"Neither am I!" Draco shot back as he growled and headed upstairs, frowning when he heard the shower running. If they had been back in his time he would have hunted down the party who had dared to do such a thing to his Rider, but here.... Here he was trapped to hide in the shadows, unable to help except to sooth and reassure frayed nerves. 

Rumbling lowly, he paced along the length of the hallway, wondering how long her shower was going to be. It was hitting on almost ten minutes later when she finally stormed out of the bathroom, dressed in a tank top and shorts as she savagely dried her hair with a towel, and she stomped right past him, heading into their shared room. Frowning, he followed her, a sympathetic sigh leaving him when he saw her ball up the towel and throw it across the room, angry tears brimming in her eyes as she raked her nails through her hair. "Kaeli." 

She glanced towards him, then quickly wiped at her eyes. "Hey. How was your day?" 

"Kaeli, Erica told me what happened," he murmured as he walked over to her, reaching out to brush the curtain of her hair aside so he could see her face, sighing when he saw how miserable she looked. "Are you hurt? Physically?" When she shook her head, he closed a claw around the edge of her shirt and gently tugged her close so he could wrap a wing around her, letting her lean against his side as he twisted his head to nuzzle her ribs, purring at her soothingly. "Come and sit with me." 

Sighing in defeat, she let him corral her over to the mattress that served as their bed and threw herself down onto it, sinking her chin into her hands as he stepped around her and lay down so that he was curled around her, a low rumble leaving him as he settled himself, then turned his head to look at her, his golden orange gaze dark with worry. "I'm alright," she muttered sourly. "I suppose that I should have known something like this would happen." 

"Don't think like that," he frowned, wrapping a wing around her and rumbling at her in concern as he coaxed her to lean back against him so that her head was resting against his shoulder. Once he was certain that she was well on her way to relaxing, he reached out with a claw and gently took her left hand, playing with her fingers. "I'm sorry, Kaeli. I wish I could have been there, they'd have regretted harming you, my little dreamer." 

She sighed and hung her head into her right hand, closing her eyes wearily. "I want to go home," she whispered brokenly, fighting back tears, a shudder wracking her frame when Draco purred at her soothingly and brushed his cheek against hers. On impluse, she turned and threw her arms around his neck, buring her face in the scales of his shoulder as she lost the battle, her tears cascading down her cheeks as she cried. 

Alarmed by the sudden change in her, Draco curled himself around her, resting a claw on her back as she clung to him. With a sigh, he rested his head against hers, trying to comfort her the best he could as he started to hum softly, seeking to calm her obviously shattered nerves. He had been afraid that something like this would happen, knowing quite well that she still had so many fears and insecurities about her former home. Having something like this happen was probably the last push needed to overwhelm her. 

It was fifteen minutes later when she quieted, her breathing slowing to something more natural, but he kept singing to her just the same, knowing that she needed the extra comfort. Slowly, he felt her relax, the tension ebbing from her, and he waited a few more moments before raising his head and looking at her, meeting her tired gaze. "I'm sorry." 

"It's not your fault," she whispered with a frown. "There's nothing you could have done." 

"You're my Rider," he murmured. "I'm supposed to protect you." 

"You can't protect me from the entire world, Draco." 

"I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it," he grumbled, sighing when she reached out and lightly brushed her knuckles over his eyeridges, the sensation calming him. "_I'm_ the one who's supposed to be calming _you_." 

"I'm returning the favor," she smiled, eliciting a low rumble from him as he rested his cheek against her shoulder and wrapped his forelegs around her waist, pulling her against his chest as he purred softly, the vibration resonating through her. It was like being curled up with a giant cat, and she more than happily shifted so that she could lean her head back on his shoulder, smiling slightly when he rested his head on her stomach, his tail lightly thumping against the mattress as he tightened his hold on her. 

Boh of them were content to merely stay like that for as long as the other allowed it, and he sighed contentedly, the close contact reassuring him to Kaeli's wellbeing. Touch had always been important to him and his kind, even if it was just a bump of the shoulder, or a brush of a wing. It always spoke volumes more than any words ever could. And especially when it came to their bond through the heart, touch always amplified the link between the two holders. Being able to sense her presence so close to him was very comforting, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. 

"Kaeli?" he murmured softly, unsure if she was still awake or not. 

"Mm?" 

He chuckled and rose his head to meet her drowsy gaze. "You're going to get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that." 

"Don't care," she mumbled, snuggling closer with a tired sigh. "M'tired." 

"Alright," he whispered, smiling when she muttered his name and curled up closer to him. Sighing contentedly, he rested his head on her stomach again, listening to her breathing slow as she let sleep claim her, one of her hands moving to rest along the back of his neck as she relaxed. He closed his eyes and rumbled deep in his throat, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he joined his Rider in sleep. 

~*~ 

A loud slam of a door woke him early the next morning, and he spent a moment blinking at the closest wall before his memory took the opportunity presented to remind him of where he was. Yawning, he rose his head from where he had been using Kaeli's lap as a pillow, stretching his wings until the tips brushed either wall before he turned his attention to his Rider, who was looking around them bleerily as she ran a hand through her hair. 

"Wha the hell was that?" she mumbled, trying not to move from her very comfortable place against Draco's side. "Is it me or is 'Rica real damn noisy?" 

"She's noisy," he answered, yawning again as he rose a claw to idly scratch at his cheek. "Are you getting up?" 

She thought about that for a moment. "No. But I have to move." He oblidgingly released her, and she sat up with a groan, rubbing at the back of her neck with one hand while she stretched out her other arm to snag a nearby pillow, tossing it next to her before she threw herself down onto it. 

"I told you you'd have a crick in your neck if you slept like that," he chastised her, eliciting a muffled grumble as she wrapped her arms around the pillow and obviously tried her hardest to ignore him. Chuckling, he wrapped a wing over her to keep her warm then rested his head against her shoulders, stifling another yawn as he nuzzled her shoulder blades, then lay quiet, merely listening to her breathe. He waited for a few minutes, unsure if she had actually managed to fall asleep again, then ventured a low whisper. "Are you awake?" 

"....no?" 

He chuckled. "You don't sound very sure." 

"I'm awake. But not awake enough to want to be coherant," she mumbled against the pillow, her voice muffled yet somehow still intelligible. 

"Fair enough," he smiled, nuzzling her shoulders, then exhaling into her hair, chuckling when she swatted at him and ducked under his wing. Amused, he rose his wing from her back and looked at her, meeting her disgruntled gaze with a smile. "Morning." 

"You're being evil," she informed him, sighing when he merely continued to smile at her. "Ugh, a morning person. Why am I linked to a morning person? Y'know, one day I'm gonna put a sleep spell on you just so that I can sleep in." 

"You wouldn't!" 

She gave him a semi-evil grin. "Try me." 

He snorted and dropped the pillow onto her head. "You don't frighten me, little dreamer," he rumbled tenderly, ruffling her hair when she pulled the pillow off of herself. "You're my Rider, my bonded heartmate, I could never fear you." 

"Dammit," she grumbled half-heartedly. "Do you have to do that? I can't stay mad at you when you say stuff like that!" 

He gave her his best suave grin. "Really? I'll have to remember that." 

Kaeli rolled her eyes and grabbed the pillow again, turning over so she was facing him. "Erica said that we have to lay low tonight," she said conversationally as he wrapped his wing around her again. "Her boyfriend's gonna be coming by." 

"You sound bitter," he murmured as he rested his chin on his crossed forearms and looked at her, seeing the myraid emotions play across her face. "You're jealous." 

"No! No.... not really. It's just...." 

"You wish you had someone too?" he guessed, sighing when she blushed and avoided his gaze. "Kaeli, don't avoid potential relationships on my account." 

She sighed heavily and shook her head. "Draco, sometimes you can be so thick-headed," she muttered as she moved to get to her feet, pausing when he grabbed her wrist and tugged her back down. 

"Kaeli...." He studied her for a long moment, then, slowly, the pieces finally came together. "....why didn't you tell me?" 

Her shoulders rose and fell in a weak shrug. "Didn't want you to be disgusted or something," she mumbled, staring over at a spot on the far wall as she spoke. "Didn't want you to think that this is just some infantile crush, or that I'm just being a stupid little girl like I was when you first met me." 

"You have no idea what my first opinion of you was," he said gently, meeting her gaze when she glanced at him warily. "I remember seeing a brave, courageous warrioress, who wasn't afraid of standing up for her beliefs, who wouldn't bow down to anyone, for anything, even if it meant taking on a Knight of the realm. I remember seeing so much potential, so much _life_ in that woman that it reminded me of how much I had lost myself in my mournings and my darkness. And now I see you on the verge of realising how strong you truly are, and how much potential you have, and I am so very honoured to have you in my life. I've never once thought you infantile, or as a little girl, and I am certainly not disgusted by your feelings towards me. In all honesty.... I'm very flattered." 

Tears had gathered as she had listened to him speak, and she clumsily wiped at the moisture on her cheeks as she sniffled and turned to look at him fully. "Really?" 

"You have my solem vow," he whispered, tenderly brushing her hand aside so that he could dry her tears, being careful not to scratch her with his talons as he did so. "And may I be forced to eat Kara's cooking if I'm lying." The last little bit had the desired effect of drawing a soft giggle from her, and he smiled as he lightly trailed the smooth curve of a talon over her heart, happily shifting to accomodate her when she curled up against his side and rested her head on his arched neck. "Did you ever think, that perhaps I would feel the same way?" 

She went very still against him for a moment, then pushed away and searched his gaze, blushing seconds later. "Alright, so despite the fact that we've been living together for the past three years, we obviously have a _huge_ communication problem." 

"Then let's rectify it," he rumbled as he took her hand and pressed it flat against his heart, reaching out with his other claw to rest a single talon against her own scar. Immediately the link between them flared open, and he heard her startled gasp as her emotions and thoughts flooded him, the turmoiled chaos of them making him chastise himself for not warning her first. 

_W-what is this? {Curiousity/wariness} Oh Gods I can feel him {Wonder/warmth/safety} Am I this open too? {Fear/anxiety/nervousness}_

He frowned at the jumble and took a moment to sort them all out before he sent a whisper across her soul, projecting reassurance and love as he spoke. _Shh. Kaelianna. It's alright._

"D-Draco? What...." 

He met her gaze and smiled, knowing that she spoke aloud because she didn't know that she could speak any other way. _Speak with your heart, Kaeli. Try._

Confused, she floundered amidst the rush of emotions from both herself and him, closing her eyes for added concentration as she struggled, then managed to create an calmness in the storm of her turmoil. _What is this?_

_It's a joining. A way to speak through the heart without the boundaries of normal speech. There are no mis-communications here. No secrets, no lies. Just our two souls. _He could feel her shaking, and he wrapped his wings around her to offer a comforting touch as he continued._ Don't be afraid of this, of me. This is me, Kaeli. This is all I am. This is my soul._

She could almost feel the warmth of it against her skin. His soul was like a golden blaze of the sun. Power tempered by such pureness, such warmth. The thought that Einon had almost taken this from him brought tears to her eyes, and she lost herself in the sheer brilliance of it for a moment before she became aware that it was tied to a part of her own core. The blue ocean of her own soul called to that golden brillance, and vice versa, the two tempering and balancing the other, and she felt overwhelmed, dizzied by the discovery. 

Slowly, Draco broke the intense link between them, reaching out to steady her when she swayed and rose a hand to her head in disorientation. "Do you understand, my little dreamer? You have my loyalty, my love and my soul." 

"We're more than linked, aren't we?" she whispered. "Love strengthens the heart, especially when it's shared." 

He nodded, raising a claw to lightly rake his talons through her hair. "You're still turmoiled. I didn't mean to startle you like that. I just thought it would clear things up between us. I didn't want you to question yourself. I wanted you to know how I feel, so that there aren't any.... mis-communications between us." 

She leaned against him and rubbed her cheek against his, merely resting against him for a long comfortable moment before she gathered up her courage and uttered the secret she had been holding inside her soul for over a year. "I love you." 

A purr rose from him as he smiled. "I love you too, my little dreamer."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Come stop your crying it will be alright_   
_Just take my hand, hold it tight_   
_I will protect you from all around you_   
_I will be here, don't you cry_

_For one so small you seem so strong_   
_My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm_   
_This bond between us, can't be broken_   
_I will be here, don't you cry_

_Cause you'll be in my heart_   
_Yes, you'll be in my heart_   
_From this day on, now and forever more_   
_You'll be in my heart_   
_No matter what they say_   
_You'll be here in my heart always...._

_Why can't they understand the way we feel?_   
_They just don't trust, what they can't explain_   
_I know we're different but, deep inside us_   
_We're not that different at all_

_An you'll be in my heart_   
_Yes you'll be in my heart_   
_From this day on, now and forever more_   
_You'll be in my heart_   
_No matter what they say_   
_You'll be here in my heart always...._

_Don't listen to them, what do they know?_   
_We need each other to have to hold_   
_They'll see in time.... I know...._   
_When destiny calls you, you must be strong (you gotta be strong)_   
_I might not be with you, but you've got to hold on_   
_They'll see in time.... I know...._

_We'll show them together, 'cause_   
_You'll be in my heart_   
_Yes you'll be in my heart_   
_From this day on, now and forever more_   
_You'll be in my heart_

_No matter what they say_   
_You'll be here in my heart always.._   
_You'll be in my heart (you'll be here in my heart)_   
_No matter what they say (I'll be with you)_   
_You'll be here in my heart (I'll be there) always.._   
_Always...._

_I'll be with you_   
_I'll be there for you always, always and always_   
_Just look over your shoulder_   
_Just look over your shoulder_   
_Just look over your shoulder_   
_I'll be there always...._

_--Phil Collins "You'll be in my Heart"_   
__   
__


	10. Demons in the Morning

_We don't own Draco._   
  


Demons in the Morning   


Erica yawned as she descended the stairs, having heard voices from Kaeli and Draco's room but deciding not to interupt them. After yesterday's terrible ending, she had pretty much expected the elf to stay with the dragon, leaving her alone for the night but far from worried. If anyone could protect and help Kaeli through emotional matters, it was Draco, and Erica smiled a little when she thought about the relationship the two had. She wondered if Kaeli was ever going to admit to Draco that she loved him and vice versa. It had been so apparant to her when the two had shown up on her doorstep that she had to fight from asking her friend outright, not wanting to embarrass the elf by telling her that her emotions were wide open to the world, and yet somehow completely overlooked by the one she cared for. 

But then again, a part of her rationalised, Draco _was_ male. And as much as she liked the dragon, males as a whole were usually a little thick in the area of emotions. Erica herself had been debating making a huge sign her for own boyfriend, Alex, in order to help him realise that she thought of him as much more than just a boyfriend. She had been sending out the signs for months now, with no noticable sign that any of them had been picked up by the dark haired man. It was so infuriating. 

Shaking her head, she calmly padded into the kitchen, effortlessly sidestepping Draggin' as the cat wove around her ankles. A quick flip of a switch and the coffee maker began brewing, the scent of fresh coffee wafting through the house as she picked up the cat bowl on the floor and went to upend a can of food into it, chuckling when the black cat purred at her as if in thanks when she set the bowl down once again. 

Thinking that it was just her imagination going off without her again, she went and washed her hands before popping two toast into the toaster and going to rummage through the fridge for some milk for her coffee, coming up with only some flavored cream. Shrugging, she figured it was better than nothing and set the small bottle on the counter before going to the livingroom and plucking a cd from the rack, humming as she popped the _Josh Groban_ compact disc into the player and pressed 'play', a content smile spreading over her lips when the rich tone of the singers voice floated from the six speaker stereo system. 

The sound of interested parties from upstairs drifted to her as she went to get the morning paper, eyeing the front yard warily as she stooped to grab the newspaper, then quickly closed the door again, trying to hide a shiver as she locked the door once again. The smooth voice from the speakers soothed her nerves as she walked back to the kitchen, idly flipping through the first few pages to see what the main headlines were, a single red eyebrow arching when she saw that there was a small article about teenagers and religion. 

Hoping that it wasn't another 'battle of the religions' article, she threw the paper onto the dining room table then caught the toast as they popped out of the toaster, buttering them quickly before she poured herself a mug of coffee and went to sit down, Draggin' coming over to rub his arched back against her legs as she spread out the paper and began reading. 

It was almost ten minutes later when she heard the stairs creak, and she smiled when she saw Kaeli walk into the kitchen, raising her mug in a sort of greeting. "Morning. How are you feeling?" 

"Better," the elf smiled as she went about making herself some tea. "Who's the singer? He sounds entirely incredible." There was a snort from the stairs, and she muffled a giggle as she quickly added, "for a human, of course." 

"That's better," Draco rumbled, playfully nudging a wing against her as she exchanged amused glances with Erica. 

"His name's Josh Groban," Erica smiled. "He's kinda new. Only twenty-four or something like that." 

"A voice like that and he's our age? Damn, he's set for life!" Kaeli said, eyes wide as she stepped around Draco and went to grab an orange out of the fridge, tossing an apple to Draco as she did so. 

"I know. I love his songs," Erica sighed, chuckling when she saw Draco mutter something under his breath. "Sorry, but you already have your own little fan club. I'm stickin' with him." 

Draco glanced at a blushing Kaeli, then looked to Erica, who had a mischivous look to her. "You knew?" 

"Knew what?" 

Kaeli poured the heated water into a mug, then went to join her friend at the table. "I, uh.... I told him." 

"Told him?" She let silence hang for a moment before her mind supplied the click that made the clue. "Oh. Oh! Well that's great! Uh, it _is_ great, right?" 

"Yes," Draco chuckled as he moved to sit on his haunches by Kaeli's side, gently leaning his shoulder against hers. "Everything's perfect." 

A wide smile spread over Erica's lips as she watched a slight blush cover her best friend's cheeks. "Well good! It's about damned time! I was beginning to think you two were completely blind to each other for a moment there!" 

"We had a few.... mis-communications," Draco smiled, casting a warm look at the woman beside him. "But everything's sorted out now." He slid a wing around his Rider's shoulders as he spoke, tucking it across her back in a clearly possessive gesture that made a smirk appear on Erica's face. 

"Anyway," Kaeli said quickly, wanting to shift the conversation away from herself. "You need help at the store again, 'Rica?" 

"Nah. We took care of the weekly shipment yesterday, so there's nothing I'd have for you to do. I need you to take care of a few things around the house today instead. Y'know, put the candy into those small bags for the kids, hang up the lights outside along the roof's edge, carve the pumpkin, that kinda stuff." 

"Ugh. I think I'd rather go into work with you." 

"Don't be mean," Erica chided her with a snicker. "Besides, I need someone here for when the younger kids start doing the rounds of the neighbourhood." 

Draco tilted his head to the side as he looked from one woman to the other. "What do children have to do with All Hallows Eve?" 

"It's called Halloween now," Kaeli explained. "The whole magickal aspect is pretty much gone. Nowadays, it's a holiday for kids. They dress up as monsters and stuff like that and go door to door to receive candies and treats. It's all comercialised." 

"But it's _fun._" Erica added with a grin. "Which reminds me, are you coming with Alex an I tonight? I know this great dance club over on Eleventh and Independence that's going to hold one hell of a party." 

"Um.... I don't know," Kaeli answered hesitantly, glancing at Draco, who frowned when she did so. "I'll see." 

"If you want to go, then go," he rumbled. "Don't deny yourself a chance to enjoy yourself. I can stay here on my own, you know." 

"I know," she said quickly. "It just doesn't seem fair. Going out and leaving you stuck here on your own." 

"He's a big dragon, he can take care of himself," Erica smiled. "Come dancing with us." 

"She'll go," Draco answered for her, meeting the elf's wide eyed gaze afterwards. "This is a chance for you to spend some time with Erica. Don't pass it up on my account, little dreamer." 

She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll go." 

"Excellent! And you don't even have to dress up, just put on the outfit you showed up in," Erica grinned, finishing off her toast and coffee before standing and going to put her dishes in the sink. "I've gotta get going. So, the pumpkin's out in the back yard, I'm guessing you already know where I hid the candy, and the lights are in the basement next to the washer. Use the good metal ladder so you don't knock yourself senseless, okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah," Kaeli sighed, turning in her chair to watch Erica as she grabbed her purse off the counter and fished out her keys. "You call me if anything goes wrong, hmm?" 

"No prob," Erica grinned, waving to the two before heading for the door. "See ya." 

Kaeli was about to reply when the hairs on the nape of her neck bristled, the sensation sending a chill through her as she lunged from the chair, ignoring Draco's cry as she bolted for Erica, who had just unlocked the front door while she pulled on her coat, Draggin' hissing loudly in warning. 

Snarling, the demon sent the door slamming against the wall hard enough that the handle became stuck into the plaster, and Kaeli barely managed to yank Erica out of the way of a vicious claw swipe, the black talons skimming her own ribs as she intersposed herself between it and her friend. Even without thinking about it, she summoned a shield, the glowing barrier a sparkling blue wall before her, and she instinctively rose a hand to channel more energy into it as the demon threw itself at it, trying to overpower it with sheer physical force. 

Her own small fangs bared, she sent a wave of power through the barrier, seeing the demon's pupiless red eyes widen when the magick literally fried it's nerves and flesh, leaving it hanging in mid-air, spread eagled against the shield as it continued to burn. A sharp gesture from her vaporised it, and she quickly moved forward to close the door, a cry leaving her when a second demon tackled her, it's claws ripping into her arms and shoulders as it sent them to the floor in a tangle of limbs, Draco's roar of pain and anger loud in her ears as her head smacked against the floor. 

She somehow managed to recover first, ignoring the wounds on her arms by a great show of willpower as she flipped the demon onto it's back and violently snapped it's neck, leaving it to dissipate into a thick oily smoke while she lashed out with a foot and kicked the front door closed right in a third demons face, her breath coming in rapid pants as she immediately staggered to her feet and planted her back against the door, bracing it against the heavy blows that rattled it. 

Reeling in shock, Erica looked up from the demon that had just vanished to the elf, gasping in horror as she ran forward and pressed her hands against the great gashes in her friend's shoulders, her fingers slipping in the blood that welled up from the terrible wounds. "Kaeli! Oh Gods!" 

"I'll be alright," she snapped, pushing Erica's hands away as a particularly powerful hit made the door creak loudly. Even as she fought to block out the pain, the gashes in her flesh began to Heal, drawing her best-friend's wide-eyed gaze as the skin reknitted itself, the wounds vanishing without a scar within seconds. Draco was by her side moments later, the glow from the shared pain just beginning to fade from his own forelegs and shoulders as he braced himself against the door, nudging her aside. Knowing that his physical strength outclassed her by at least fifty times, she turned her attention to Erica, who was watching them palely. "'Rica? 'Rica, you okay?" 

Erica blinked as Kaeli ran her hands over her arms and shoulders, looking for wounds, then gently pushed her away, eyeing the blood on her friend's clothing. "I'm alright. Are you? Your arms...." 

"I heal quickly," Kaeli said softly. "It's a gift that comes with sharing a dragon's heart. Only he shares my pain whenever I get seriously hurt." 

"A small price to pay for your wellbeing," Draco panted, still recovering from the pain that had spread across his flesh like wildfire. "I think the demon's gone. I can't smell it anymore." 

Kaeli carefully moved over to him and cracked the door open, peering outside for a split second before shutting it again. "We're in the clear." 

Draco sighed and turned to look at her, raising a claw to her cheek as he met her gaze. "Are you alright?" When she nodded, he nuzzled her cheek in relief, then looked at Erica, who was clutching her jacket so tightly that her knuckles were white. "Erica?" 

Frowning, Kaeli looked over at her friend, then moved to take her hands, squeezing them reassuringly. "I'm going to put some major shields around you. Whoever's after you just got more powerful." 

"I know," Erica whispered with a shiver. "I-I.... I can't...." 

Worried, Kaeli guided her friend over to the couch, setting her down on it while Draco looked on in concern. "Erica, Erica look at me. I can protect you, alright? Will you let me put some shields on you?" 

Still shaking, Erica nodded, shivering when Kaeli cupped her face in her hands and turned her to meet her emerald gaze, the sheer warmth and love and protectiveness in her gaze making her impulsively throw her arms around her friend in a hug, clinging to her as another shudder went through her. 

"Shh, it's okay," Kaeli whispered, rocking the other woman back and forth in order to calm her. "It's okay. We're gonna help you any way we can, okay? You'll be alright, I promise you that. Okay?" 

Slowly, Erica regained control of herself, raising a hand to wipe the hot tears from her eyes as Kaeli gave her a comforting squeeze, then held her at arms length, one hand raising to smooth her tousled red bangs out of her eyes. "Thanks. Both of you." 

"Anytime, young wiccan," Draco rumbled with a smile. "Now, let Kaeli work her magicks on you." 

Erica nodded again and looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "How do you want to do this?" 

"Sit on the floor in front of me with your back to me," Kaeli said softly, waiting until Erica had done so before moving her hands over the redheads shoulders, just barely touching her. "Okay, now this might look a little odd to you, since you can see magick like I can. But it's perfectly safe, alright?" She pulled away then and took a moment to bundle her hair up into a knotted ponytail, keeping the long wisps out of her eyes. "Okay, now, I'm going to shrink it down to your skin, so attacks will just slide off of you, instead of stopping or absorbing it. It'll probably look purple to you, since that's the main colour in your aura. Ready?" 

Draco watched raptly as Kaeli held her hands out again, one over each shoulder, fingertips just barely touching. He hadn't really been expecting to see anything, so he was surprised when he noticed a slight glow growing around Erica's form, the area around her blurring a bit, a faint purplish light outlining the blurred area. Things were obviously more elaborate from her point of view since her eyes were getting wider by the second, and he cocked his head at her, fascinated. 

Kaeli flexed her fingers then, and the blur seemed to seep into Erica's skin, melding with her as she rose a hand and blinked at her own fingers, wiggling them as if she was seeing them for the first time. 

"....wow," she said finally, turning her gaze up to Kaeli's. "It's.... incredible. When did you get this much power?" 

"I've always had it," Kaeli told her nervously. "I just.... didn't use it. I was afraid you'd be jealous...." 

"Jealous? Kaeli, that's stupid!" 

"I know that, now. It's just, at the time, magicks were so easy for me, and you were struggling with things.... I didn't want you to think I was rubbing your face in it." 

Erica frowned, then glanced at Draco. "I take it that I have you to thank for setting her straight?" 

He grinned and nodded, seeing Kaeli's cheeks turn pink as she rose a hand to scratch at her head. "She couldn't hide it from me as easily as she hid it from you. I could sense it in her, so she didn't have any reason or room to lie." 

"I didn't lie to Erica. She never asked, and I never told her, but I never lied!" 

"She's got a point," Erica agreed hesitantly as she rose to her feet and looked down at her hands again. "Damn. I feel like I'm invincible or something." 

"Don't get drugged on it," Kaeli warned her. "It's a powerful shield, and it'll alert me if you get attacked again, but you're not invincible. You get hit by a car and it'll still smear you on the pavement." 

"Ugh, there's that harsh reality again." 

"Look, give me a few minutes to get changed and I'll go into work with you...." 

"No! No...." Erica frowned and hugged herself. "Kaeli, I won't hide, and I won't have you acting all protective. The shop's shielded, I'll be as safe there as I am inside this house." 

"Yeah, it's just the trip there that could kill you," her friend grumbled. "At least let me ride along. I'll walk back here after...." 

"Are you nuts? It's three miles away!" 

"So it'll be a long walk. I don't care!" 

"I do!" 

"You shouldn't go out there by yourself!" 

"I don't need you mother-henning me!" 

"I am not mother-henning you!" Kaeli yelled, shooting to her feet to glare at Erica angrily. "I'm trying to keep you alive!" 

Draco sighed and tried to diffuse the fight before it escaladed. "Kaeli--" 

"I don't need a bodyguard!" 

"What, you'd prefer a mortician?!" 

A loud growl escaped the dragons throat as Erica's hand lashed out to deliver a solid slap across Kaeli's face, and even before he realised what he was doing he had intersposed himself between them, glaring at Erica angrily. "That's enough! Both of you! Erica, sit down! This is ridiculous! You're putting yourself at risk, can't you see that Kaelianna is trying to help you?! Can't you see what will happen to her if you die?! You wear her ring because the bond between the two of you is eternal, because you are sisters! Why do you fight it?" 

Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her, Erica dropped down onto the couch and stared up at him in bewilderment before looking over at Kaeli, who had her arms wrapped around herself and was staring out the livingroom bay windows, her jaw clenched. "I.... I didn't mean.... Kaeli, I'm--" 

"Don't," Kaeli whispered, not looking at her. "Just.... just don't. You meant what you said. If you want to go, then go. I've done what I can to keep you safe. It's your life.... your decisions." 

Erica winced as her friend turned and walked out of the room, then hung her head, sighing. "I fucked up, didn't I?" 

Draco echoed her sigh and rose his left claw, palm up, letting her see the glowing half-moon shaped marks, knowing that she knew that the wounds were an echo of what Kaeli was doing to her own palm. "All she wants is for you to be safe," he told her. "She crossed time itself to get here. She loves you like a sister, don't push her away because you don't like how she's trying to protect you. She doesn't know any other way." 

"She won't listen to me right now," Erica whispered. "She's too angry." 

"I know. Go, and call her in a few hours," he sighed, meeting her tear-filled gaze. "I'll talk to her for you." 

She smiled a little, then leaned forward and hugged him, hearing his soft rumble as she did so. "Thank you. Tell her I'm sorry. Please?" 

"Of course." 

"Thank you." Wiping at her eyes, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door, pausing to look in the direction the elf had gone before sighing and leaving, the door closing softly behind her. 

Kaeli's sharp hearing picked up the sound of the trucks motor starting up, and she closed her eyes in defeat, her anger leaving her as fast as it had come until only a sense of helplessness remained, the emotion welling up within her until she rose her right hand to her mouth to stifle a sob, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back a bought of tears. 

Wings wrapped around her from behind, envelloping her in warmth, and she shuddered, thinking about pulling away for a moment before the sensation of Draco gently resting his chin on her shoulder registered. "I don't want to lose her." 

"You won't," he whispered. "But she's like you. A free spirit. You can't ask her to give up her freedom, even if it is to protect her. You'd fight against it too." 

"I know.... I know." 

"She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry. And that she'll call in a few hours." 

"I heard." 

He sighed softly and brushed his cheek against hers, purring softly. "Kaeli, please relax your left hand. Hurting yourself isn't going to help matters." 

"You can feel it? Oh, Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...." 

"Shh. It's alright," he murmured to her, nuzzling her hair and inhaling a breath of her scent. "I'm not the one you should apologise to." 

She sighed heavily and leaned her cheek against his. "I know. I screwed up." 

"Yes. But you can fix it. Talk to her when she calls." 

"....alright." 

Seeking to calm her, he loosened his wings around her and turned so that he was standing sideways behind her, purring as he rested his tail against her legs and let her lean back against him, easily taking her weight as she twisted to curl her arms around his neck. "It'll be alright, my Kaeli," he reassured her as he rose a claw to her back. "For now, you should go get changed. Your clothing is still bloody from the demon attack." 

She glanced down at herself and winced at the sight. "Yeah, okay. I'll, um... be right back." When he folded his wings against his back, she pulled away and headed upstairs, waiting until she had reached the privacy of their shared room before she looked down at her left hand, watching the gashes from her own nails heal cleanly. Sighing again, she toed the door shut and went to the dresser, taking out a pair of jeans and a black tank top that Erica had given her, quickly changing into the outfit and then looking down at the blood covered clothing she held, tightening her hands around the material as she turned and went to throw them into Erica's hamper. 

Somehow, she knew it was going to be a long day.   
  
  
  
  
  


TBC 


	11. Trick or Treat

_No ownage of Draco happening here._   
  


Trick or Treat   
  
  
  


Kaeli sighed in satisfaction as she finished tying up the orange Halloween lights, wiping the back of her left hand against her forehead as she carefully climbed down the ladder, always keeping an eye out for any more wayward demons or those bedamned chihuahua's from that psycho neighbour. She had already made up the two hundred little baggies of candy for the kids later on, the job made harder by Draco, who kept stealing some of the treats when she wasn't looking. There had been enough candy left over to fill the large salad bowl that Erica had, and while she knew that the dragon had been picking candies from it ever since she had come outside to hand the lights, she was fairly certain that there would be enough left over for tonight. 

Once on the ground, she collapsed the extendable ladder and hefted it onto her shoulder, effortlessly carrying it into the backyard where she had found it. Erica had called a good two hours ago, and they had exchanged apologies, their little fight a thing of the past now that their frayed tempers had run their course. To say that she had been relieved didn't even begin to describe what she had felt when they had spoken, her worries that she had driven her friend away fading at the worried tone in her voice. Granted, Draco had been standing beside her with an air of 'I told you so', which had brought a smile to her lips when he had preened smugly. 

Smiling, she slid the patio doors open and stepped back inside, sidestepping around Draggin' when the cat purred and curled around her ankles, obviously sensing her better mood. Of course, it could have just been that he was trying to let her get her guard down, especially since it was around the time that he should have been fed. The sound of a candy wrapper being torn apart made her roll her eyes as she plucked a cat food can out of the pantry and upended it into the cats food bowl, pausing to toss the can into the garbage before she walked into the livingroom, shaking her head at the sight that presented itself to her. 

Draco looked up from the pile of empty wrappers and blinked at the amused look on her face. "What?" 

She snickered. "I should never have let you try those Skittles," she smiled as she stooped and grabbed the bowl of candy, dodging his reaching claw as she went to put the bowl on the dining room table, where she had already set up the newspaper to protect the table from the pumpkin innards that she was going to rip out of the festive legume. Trusting that she'd be able to hear him try to steal the bowl back, she opened the patio door again and grabbed the large pumpkin off of the top step, hefting the amazingly heavy vegetable in her arms as she used the toe of her sneaker to slide the door closed, then turned to set the thing on the table, eyeing Draco warily when she saw him close to the table. 

"Don't you even think about touching those candies. You've had enough." 

He snorted but reluctantly obeyed, turning his attention onto the pumpkin instead as she donned a sharp knife and cut into it, carving out the top in a circular hole that allowed her to life a portion off by the stump of it's vine. "Why exactly is this a part of All Hallow's Eve?" 

"It's a festive tradition. Every house that's going to give out candy puts a carved out pumpkin on the front steps. See, you're supposed to cut out all the insides then carve out a frightening face. That way when you put a candle inside of it it'll glow like some sort of eerie face." 

He didn't even miss a beat. "And that's supposed to be festive?" 

"Don't harp on tradition," she told him as she trimmed the top then eyed the pumpkin's insides. In all truth this was the part that she hated the most. It was simply the most disgusting sensation in the world. Studiously ignoring Draco's curious look, she plundged her hand into the pumpkin and used her talons to cut through the moist insides, unable to hide a grimace as she ripped a large portion of it out and dropped it on the newspaper. 

While she fought against a full body shudder, Draco edged closer to the candy bowl, and it was pure luck that she looked over at him at the exact same time he had a claw buried in the candy. Seeing her glare, he froze in place, then smiled at her suavely in an attempt to get away with disobeying her, that smile rapidly fading from his face when she threw a handful of pumpkin at him, the gooey insides mixed with seeds sticking to the scales of his face in clumps. 

Realising what she had done, Kaeli fought back a giggle and eyed him warily as he pulled his claw free of the bowl and wiped at the sticky gunk, a rather unimpressed look on his face as he looked from her to the clawful of pumpkin he now held, a slow smile spreading over his lips as his eyes gained a playful gleam. 

Never let it be said that Kaeli didn't know when to run. 

With a shriek of laughter, she bolted from the room, the clump of pumpkin missing her by mere inches at it impacted with the fridge door, sticking there for a moment before it started a slow slide towards the floor. Knowing better than to think that she was in the clear, Kaeli made a run for the stairs, barely managing to avoid Draco's reaching claws as her sneakers squeaked on the hardwood floor, seeking purchase as she threw herself up the stairs, taking them two at a time while the dragon scrambled after her. 

He caught her at the top, a claw closing around her left ankle and tripping her, sending her sprawling to the floor as he mock-attacked her, his talons curling into her sides, right where the was the most ticklish. Gasping with uncontrollable laughter, she planted a foot against his chest and shoved, pushing him back just enough for her to wriggle free and make a mad dash for their room, hands closing on a pillow as he followed her in. 

With a triumphant yell, she swung at him, catching him upside the head. Material caught and tore against the spikes on his carapace, sending cotton fluff flying everywhere as she gave him another whack, trying to stay one step ahead of him as he duck and wove, one claw catching her right arm while the other went in for her side again. Unable to fend him off with her now rather useless scrap of material that had used to be a pillow, she merely laughed helplessly, trying to protect herself by wrapping her arms around herself, tears coming to her eyes as she finally managed to gasp out her defeat. 

"I give up!" she cried, hiccuping for breath in between uncontrollable laughter. "I give up! I can't breathe!" 

Upon hearing her breathless cry, Draco oblidgingly stopped his assault, chuckling when she scrambled away from him and lay gasping on the floor, her face flushed and her hair tousled. Smiling, he shook bits of fluff from himself then walked over to her, purring at her soothingly when she eyed him warily and reached for another pillow. "No more of that," he chuckled, catching her hand and kicking the pillow aside, settling himself down next to her and lightly running his talons through her hair, smoothing it back from her face before he moved to wrap his forelegs around her waist. 

"No more tickling!" 

He laughed softly and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I won't tickle you," he assured her as he hugged her to his chest, listening to her rapid heartbeat as she continued to regain her breath. They merely rested there for a few long minutes, until she was breathing at a more normal level, and he hid a grin from her as she picked pieces of pillow out of her hair. 

"Erica's gonna kill us," she chuckled, glacing at him out of the corner of her eye. "We keep destroying her pillows." 

"You're the one who hit me with it," he reminded her, playfully catching one of her hands and running the smooth curve of a talon against her palm. "Actually you're the one who started this." 

"Me?! Who's the one who was trying to steal candy when I wasn't looking?" 

"I just wanted another Mars bar," he muttered grumpily, frowning at her when she laughed. "What?" 

"You should hear yourself," she snickered. "You sound like a scolded child." 

He snorted, but didn't add anything to that, knowing that he wouldn't win. Instead, he lightly brushed his cheek against hers, closing his eyes when she reached up and trailed her fingers over his cheek, the gentle touch drawing a purr from him. "I'll clean up here if you promise not to throw any more pumpkin at me." 

"Deal," she grinned, pulling away as she got to her feet and brushed fluff from herself. "Have fun!" she called as she ran from the room before he realised that he had just volunteered for the harder of the two jobs. Chuckling to herself, she went back to the kitchen, cleaned up the fridge, then returned to the pumpkin, one eyebrow arching upwards in surprise when she saw Draggin' knawing on some of the pumpkin innards. 

"You are one weird cat," she said as she grabbed him and relocated him to the floor, taking a quick look around before she snatched a Caramilk out of the candy bowl, and popped the chocolate in her mouth while hiding the wrapper in the pile of pumpkin. Fighting back a triumphant grin, she set herself to her task, emptying the pumpkin of it's flesh before using a knife to carefully carve out triangle eyes, a nose and a fang filled maw. 

Satisfied with her work, she took another small bite-sized chocolate bar from the bowl and popped it into her mouth, pausing in mid-chew when Draco cleared his throat from behind her, the sound of his tail thumping on the floor telling her that he knew that she had been snacking. Trying not to choke, she swallowed the partially chewed Coffee Crisp and turned to look at him, plastering a smile onto her face. "Hi. Didja finish cleaning?" 

He tilted his head to the side, eyeridges rising towards his crown of spikes as he gave her a look. "You little sneak," he chuckled, shaking his head as he walked over to her. "I can smell the chocolate on your breath, you realise." 

She grumbled and turned back to the pumpkin, cleaning up the visage she had carved before putting the top back on and balling up the newspaper. "You had enough to make six kids sick, I'm entitled to a few pieces," she rationalised as she dumped the paper into the garbage and washed her hands in the sink, sighing as she gazed out the small window and looked at the backyard, her heart aching for the open lands of their home. 

Pushing such thoughts from her mind, she turned and went to pick up the considerably lighter pumpkin, carrying it to the front and then balancing it on a hip as she opened the front door and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the autumn air before she set her load onto the front steps. Her eyes darted to the sunset on the horizon, and for a moment she let herself feel the land around her, a shudder wracking her frame when the pollution and damage done to it by humans sent a wave of revulsion through her. 

Hugging herself now, she went back inside and kicked the door shut before the cat could get out, turning to head upstairs afterwards. She and Erica had agreed that she could wear her normal clothing and say that she was merely masquerading as a woodland elf. It was the truth, but the humans of this time didn't need to know that. She reflected on the past few days as she got changed, the more familiar clothes soothing her oddly frayed nerves as she tied her belts around her hips, then reached for her tunic, deciding to leave the sportsbr on as she pulled the cream sleeveless shirt on and tucked it into her pants. The boots came last, the soft leather soles allowing her to feel the ground under her feet while still protecting her from the elements, her fingers sliding over the pattern that adorned the side of them as she pulled them on. 

Feeling a lot more like herself than she had in the last week, she grabbed her dark brown leather coat and silently padded down the stairs, reaching up to undo the ponytail her hair was in as she did so, shaking out the long locks until they cascaded down over her shoulders. An approving growl made her glance over at Draco where he stood in the livingroom, and she couldn't help but smile in response. 

"Feel better?" he asked softly, able to tell by the look in her eyes that she did indeed feel more like herself. "So, where am I expected to stay tonight?" 

"I don't know. Between the kids and Erica's boyfriend, you'll have to lay low. At least until we leave for the party." She paused for a moment, then went to sit on the couch, looking over at him worriedly. "Are you sure it's okay if I go? I can stay." 

"Are you offering to stay because you don't want to go, or because you're worried about what might happen?" he countered as he moved to sit on his haunches in front of her, frowning when she clutched her hands in front of herself and rested her elbows on her thighs, a sigh escaping her as she looked at him. "Kaelianna?" 

"It's.... a bit of both," she answered finally. "After this morning there's no telling what will happen tongiht. And.... and I don't belong here anymore. The longer I stay here, the more I realise that I _never_ belonged...." 

He sighed and placed a claw on top of her hands, smiling at her reassuringly as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Erica doesn't realise how special you are," he mused. "I don't think she realises what you're sacrificing, my little dreamer. I wish I could make this easier on you." 

"You are," she assured him. "You are, Draco." 

Another sigh left him as he rose his claw higher, to her face, feeling the soft skin of her cheek against the palm of his claw. "I still wish I could protect you from everythi--" He cut himself off with a soft growl and rose to his feet, his gaze darting out the bay window as six small children in odd costumes ran across the lawn. "I think it's time for you to make an appearance." 

She rose to her feet and took in a breath as the doorbell rang, calming her nerves as she shot Draco a smile, then headed for the front door, plastering a grin onto her face as she threw the door open and greeted the six small children. 

~*~ 

"I'm home!" Erica called tiredly as she nudged the door open with her foot, two bags of chinese food balanced in her right hand while her left was tightly closed around the strap of her purse along with four bags from the grocery store. "A little help?" 

"Geez, what did you do?" Kaeli asked as she rushed forward to help her friend, relieving her of the grocery store bags and the chinese food. "I thought you were staying at the store until six." 

"I was, but it was dead since three, so I closed up early, picked up supper and a few things.... wow, you look good." 

"Thanks. What is all this stuff?" 

"I needed a few extra things for my costume. Going as a vampiress." 

"Sexy. Trying to seduce Alex?" 

"Ha! If I was trying to seduce Alex I wouldn't wear a costume. Or anything else for that matter." 

"Too much information, 'Rica." 

Erica giggled and hung up her coat next to the door, waving to a wide-eyed Draco as she snatched a bag and headed upstairs. "I'll be right back!" 

Kaeli rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen, setting the grocery bags down before tearing into the chinese food bags. "Mm, if there's anything I miss about this time, it's the food," she grinned as she opened a rice container and grabbed a fork out of the drawer, leaning back against the counter as she ate. Draco sent her a curious look, and she beckoned him over to her as she dug into the bag and pulled out the egg rolls. "C'mere. You'll like this." 

"Don't you dare start eating without me!" Erica called from upstairs. 

Kaeli winked at the dragon. "We won't!" she yelled back with a grin as she offered an egg roll to Draco, who sniffed at it curiously before accepting the treat, a pleased rumble leaving him as he licked his lips. "Good huh? Can't get this back home." She ate another forkfull of rice and sagged against the counter for a moment before she turned and rummaged through the open bag, glancing towards the stairs as she handed Draco the rest of the dozen egg rolls. "Don't let her catch you eating those." 

He grinned and grabbed the bag in his teeth, shooting a look at the stairs before he ducked behind the dining room table and tore open his prize, licking his lips as he quickly downed this new treat, idly wondering if he'd be able to go back to ordinary cattle once they were home. He heard Erica run down the stairs then, and peered through the maze of chairs as the human walked into the kitchen and promptly glared at his Rider. 

"Not startin' without me, huh?" Erica mused as Kaeli shrugged and ate another forkfull of rice. She was dressed in a tight strapless thigh-lengthed black dress, black fishnet stockings and black press on talons adding to the outfit. She had added a layer of makeup onto all of her bare skin, making her seem paler. Black eyeliner and eye shadow decorated her face along with blood red lipstick, and she grinned at the elf, showing off her fake fanged incisors as she flipped her black dyed hair over a shoulder. "You like?" 

"You look positively dead," Kaeli smirked. "Nice fangs." 

"I know. They're press on, saves me from using those horrible plastic ones. I have a cape, but I figured it'd be too much to hand out candy in." She looked towards the dining table when a low questioning rumble came from the from behind it, and gave Draco a fanged grin. "Hi, Draco!" 

"Erica?" Slowly, the dragon rose to his feet and joined them in the kitchen. "Good lords, what did you do to yourself?" 

"It's a costume," she smiled. "I'm going as a vampire. One of the living dead. Neat huh?" 

"It's.... interesting," he said slowly, glancing towards a snickering Kaeli. He still didn't understand this holiday, and looking at Erica, he was certain that he didn't want to. 

"Anyway," Kaeli murmured to Erica, placing the rice on the counter before turning to her friend. "I wanted to know if I could ward the front and back door. It involves runes." 

"You think things'll get serious tonight?" 

"Well, it's All Hallow's Eve," Kaeli explained. "There are things that walk the ground tonight that aren't human. If whoever is after you wanted a perfect night to summon something major up without burning himself out, tonight would be the night. I'm fairly certain that Draco and I could handle anything that showed up, but putting wards on the door will at least slow whatever-it-is down." 

Erica nodded. "Do it. You need a knife or something?" 

"Got it covered!" the elf grinned as she headed for the front door. "Draco, you mind watching my back?" 

Quiet, Erica followed the dragon into the livingroom and joined him as he settled himself near the large bay window, his gaze scrying the area in front of the house. "Is she being over-protective or am I really in deep trouble?" 

"After this morning, I think caution is warranted," he rumbled to her, glancing at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the lawn. "Kaeli meant it when she said she'd protect you at any cost." 

"I know,"she whispered, hugging herself as she moved away and went to watch her friend lay the wards around the entire frame, including the floor. The runes the elf incised into the threshold with a fork looked like nothing Erica had ever seen before, and she idly wondered exactly how much her friend had been hiding from her all those years ago. She knew that magick came naturally to Kaeli, but knowing now that she had kept so many things secret out of worry that she'd be jealous was a bit of a slap to the face. It also showed how much her friend had changed in those three years that she had been living in the other time. She was more confident in herself, more sure of her place in the world, and Erica decided that she was a little sad that she had missed so much of Kaeli's life. 

"There," Kaeli murmured as she finished scratching in the last rune at the top of the door. "Done. 'Rica, always check the runes when you open the door. If they glow red, close the door and don't open it until I say it's safe. Got it?" 

"Um, yeah. Yeah sure," she said, having been caught daydreaming and trying to hide it. "You gonna do the back doors too?" 

"Yup. Just to be sure." 

She nodded dumbly and watched as the elf closed the door and headed for the patio doors, a part of her mind noting how much more comfortable her friend was in her medeival clothing. Her very stride had changed, it was as if she was gliding across the room, as if every movement was like water in a stream. 

The doorbell rang then, startling her out of her thoughts, and she quickly balanced the bowl of candy bags on her left hip as she opened the door, making sure to check the runes - which weren't glowing - before she smiled at the kids and mock hissed at them, grinning at their cries of 'trick or treat'. 

~*~ 

One pirate, a toothfairy and a mini Jedi later, the runes flared red. 

Kaeli eyed the eight foot tall fire breathing demon with distain as she stood just within the threshold, her arms folded over her chest while Erica stood behind her and a little to the left. Draco was staring out the bay window looking as if someone had just kicked him where it really counted. 

"TrIcK oR TrEaT," the thing growled, blood covered nails reaching out towards the elf as flames licked at it's teeth. 

"Treat," Kaeli answered, tossing five good choclate bars out to it and watching as it caught the candies, inspected them, then looked back to her. 

"yOu SuRe?" it asked, clearly disappointed. 

"Yup." And with that, Kaeli slammed the door in its face. 

~*~ 

For the next two hours, they handed out candy to the neighbourhood children, Kaeli keeping a stern eye on the runes while Erica stood in the doorway, happily handing out the treats. Draco stayed in the darkened shadows of the livingroom, watching everything with a keen eye, only venturing out of the shadows to steal a chocolate bar or a pack of Skittles. 

Kaeli was just about to suggest that they call it a night when Erica beckoned her to the door. "What?" 

"There's a real evil-lookin' elephant standing down on the street." 

"An elephant?" Sure enough, there it was. Glaring at them with glowing firey eyes with barbed wire curled around it's tusks and a single piercing in it's left ear. 

"Um. What should we do?" Erica asked. 

Kaeli shrugged and helped herself to the last Snickers bar. "Close the door. It'll go away." 

"But, what about the kids?" 

"Erica, you ever heard about a demonic elephant hurting children on Halloween?" 

"....no." 

"Then close the door." 

Frowning, Erica did as she was told, then turned to the elf. "Why can't other people see these things?" 

"First off, because they don't believe in them." She finished off the chocolate bar and snagged a lolly pop, shaking it at Erica as she spoke. "Belief is a very strong thing. No believing, no manifestation. Second, because they're not after everyone else. They're being sent here." 

"So.... will it actually be safe to leave the house tonight?" 

"As long as I'm with you, yes." 

"And, um, what about, Alex?" When Kaeli arched an eyebrow questioningly, Erica pressed on. "What'll happen when he gets here? Won't those things get him?" 

Kaeli paused for a second, then shrugged. "He know about wicca?" 

"He knows about the religion and the beliefs, but, uh.... I never told him about the magicks." 

"Erica!" 

"Well I was going to get to it!" she protested. "I'm just... waiting for the right time!" 

"Well I think you're out of time now!" 

"I know! What am I going to do?!" Worried, she knawed at one of her fake nails and started pacing, drawing Draco's concerned gaze while Kaeli watched on curiously. "Maybe I can call him before he leaves home and--" 

"Someone just drove up to the house," Kaeli noted, opening the door and sighing when she saw a black unicorn with firey eyes and bloody hooves bearing down on the male that climbed out of the car, completely clueless. Throwing caution to the four winds, she strode past the glowing runes, calmly walked over to Alex and pushed him towards the open door. "Run." 

"Huh?" Baffled he looked from her to where she was looking, all the blood draining from his face when he saw the oncoming unicorn. "Oh my God!" 

"Would you just _run?!_" Kaeli yelled, shoving him towards the house as she rose a hand, sparkles of light gathering in her palm and she pulled on her magick. She lobbed the lightning spell at point blank range, then bolted for the door, shoving Alex in ahead of her before she and Erica slammed the door. "That was close." 

"What was that?!" Alex cried, wrapping his arms around Erica when she went to hug him, his hazel eyes wide with panic and horror as he clung to the one thing that seemed to make sense. 

"Evil unicorn," Kaeli shrugged, pausing when the sound of rending metal was heard from outside. "Um.... your car's insured, right?" 

"My car!" 

Shaking her head, Kaeli stopped his charge by planting a hand in the middle of his chest, then pushed him away from the door. "You don't want to go out there." 

He stared at her for a moment. "You're Erica's friend, aren't you? Khaki or Keiki or something like that." 

"That's _Kaeli_," she growled. 

"Right. Kaeli. Sorry. Wait, why am I letting a psycho horse destroy my car?" 

Erica sighed and took his left hand in both of hers. "You can't go out there," she told him, drawing his gaze. "Look, there's..... there's something I haven't told you. You know how you've been the accountant for the Shop since you got out of college? Well, Maeve, she was a witch. A wiccan. She could do spells and enchantments, the whole thing." She took a deep breath, then plundged ahead. "And so can I." 

Alex stared down into her chocolate brown eyes for a moment, then laughed nervously. "Nice one. You two didn't have to go through all this just to pull a Halloween prank on me." 

"It's not a prank," Kaeli frowned, raising her hand out, palm up, and summoning fire to herself, seeing his eyes widen when a fireball gathered in her hand. "Magick is as real as the air you breathe." 

He backed away a few steps, his hand sliding from Erica's grasp, then froze when he saw the shadows in the livingroom move. Shaking, he reached out and flicked on the main light, gaping when he saw a real flesh and blood dragon staring back at him. "E-Erica?" His voice was five octaves higher than normal as he grabbed onto a small sidetable, using it to keep him upright when his knees threatened to buckle. "Honey, tell me that I'm drunk." 

"You're not drunk, Alex," she whispered as she walked over to him and rose a hand to his cheek, gently forcing him to look at her. "I'm sorry. I was afraid to tell you. I didn't want to lose you, I thought that maybe it'd be too much for you. That you'd think me a fool and leave me. I'm so sorry...." 

Something in her tone of voice pulled at the rational part of his brain, and he tore his attention away from the dragon as he frowned down at his girlfriend, gently tilting her head back to meet her tear-filled gaze. "Afraid? Erica, I don't want you to be afraid to tell me anything!" Sighing, he pushed away from the small table and cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. "Erica, I love you." 

Kaeli smiled as the two kissed and went to lean against Draco's side, the two of them sharing a warm glance with each other before they looked back to the couple who were now hugging each other tightly. 

Seeing that things were finally as they were supposed to be, Draggin' leapt up onto the side table and cat-grinned at them all. "Well!" he stated in a loud voice, seeing everyone jump in surprise and look at him. "It's about damn time you two got together!"   
  


TBC 


	12. Talking Cats and Dancing

**To whom it may concern. **

Yes, we're back. Tentatively. I personally trust about as far as I can throw a Volvo, but fans of these fics have asked that I continue to update here on However, this will not be the main place to find our fics. We will always update our Message Board waay before we even think about And if deletes any more of our fics without due cause and without explaination, we're gone.

Lashana Inferno

Time stopped. All gazes were drawn to the black cat who had just spoken. First a minute went by, then two. Finally, Draggin' rolled his green eyes and sighed. "Boo!"

"Ack!" Kaeli took a writhing leap backwards and tripped over Draco, sending the two of them crashing to the floor while Erica screamed and darted behind Alex, who looked like he was ready to either collapse or have a nervous breakdown. "Sweet flamin' hellfire! It talks?"

"I _told_ you!" Draco growled from where he was partially pinned under her. "I told you it talked!"

Erica peeked around Alex's arm and swallowed. "Draggin'?"

"Yes. It talks," he said flatly. "Now are you all done with the melodramatics?"

Kaeli crawled off of Draco, then slowly got to her feet, staring at the cat for a moment longer before turning back to the dragon. "Oh, Draco... Oh, I am so sorry! I swear, I never meant--"

"Ugh, here we go again," Draggin' muttered disgustedly. "If you could tear your attention away from the lizard..."

"Draggin'!" Erica chastised. "Behave!"

"As if you should talk. Did you know that I was under the bed that night your hunnybunch stayed over?"

She blushed down to her toes. "Hey!"

Alex blinked, then rose a hand to his forehead. "I think I have to sit down."

"Whoa!" Startled, Erica grabbed his arm as his knees buckled, waiting until Kaeli had run forward to grab his other arm before the two of them walked him over to the couch, gently depositiing them there. "Alex? Hun, you okay?"

"I need a drink," he mumbled. "Okay, so something is attacking my car, there's a dragon in the livingroom, the cat talks... is there anything else I need to know!"

"I'm an elf," Kaeli shrugged, meeting his weary gaze with a sheepish smile. "Just FYI."

"Uugh."

Draco sighed and settled himself down onto the carpet, stretching out there as he gazed at the couple on the couch, then to the elf that moved to sit beside him, drawing a smile from him as he curled his tail around her.

Draggin' mock-gagged. "Oh, puke," he muttered as he lithely jumped down from the table and strolled into the livingroom, leaping up again to perch on the arm of the couch.

Erica glared at him. "You shut up. And why the hell are you only talking to me _now!_"

"Simple," he purred. "Because Maeve told me to wait until you two kids were together. To insure that everything would happen as it should."

"What are you _talking_ about?"

He sighed. "Maeve was a Seer. She could see into the past and the future. That's how she knew to expect you, and that's why she left everything, including me, to you. She knew she was dying. That's why she needed an apprentice. Someone to leave the shop to."

"I can understand that," Erica frowned. "But what's the business between me and Alex?"

"Simple. Your children."

Alex twitched. "Our _what!_"

"Your kids," the cat said slowly, as if he was talking to someone very young. "You two will have very powerful children. That's why I'm here, to act as a protector and guide to you and yours. I had to wait until I was sure you two were going to stay together before I revealed myself."

Kaeli glared. "Then why the hell have you been tormenting, Draco!"

Draggin' shrugged. "I got bored."

The lightning spell flew from Kaeli's fingers before anyone had time to blink, and Erica recoiled from the cat that gave a shriek and then toppled from the arm of the couch, crashing to the floor and lying there, twitching. Eventually, she dared to peek over the edge of the couch, dimly aware that Kaeli's sharp gaze was also on the black furred form that lay unconscious on the floor.

"Is he dead?" Erica whispered, hesitantly reaching out to poke the furred form.

"I dunno," Kaeli muttered, leaning forward.

Draggin' snapped his eyes open then, and leapt to his feet with a yell, laughing when the two women both screamed and scrambled away from him. "Haha! Oh, man, that was great!" he chuckled, raising a paw to wipe at his eyes. "I'm immune to magicks, girls. Spells don't work on me."

With a great suffering sigh, Draco closed a claw around Kaeli's belts, keeping her from throttling the animal. "Could you at least try to be serious?" he rumbled to the creature, glaring when it stuck it's tongue out at him.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't talk," Erica sighed as she took Alex's left hand in hers, squeezing reassuringly as he looked from the cat to the dragon, and then back again. "Alex, honey, you okay?"

"This... I only came here to pick you up to go to the party! I didn't expect, dragons and talking cats and psychotic horses on crack that went after my car!" he said, his voice gaining a bit more of it's usual strength. "How long have you been keeping this stuff secret?"

"All my life," Erica answered softly, summoning her courage as she met and held his gaze. "Kaeli's the only person that I've trusted. She taught me most of my wicca when we were in high school. When I met Maeve, everything got turned around. I felt like I had finally found what I was meant to do... and then I met you. And that's when I knew that I could be something more than I had ever thought... This may scare you, but you showed up at exactly the time where I was ready to give up, and when I look back now, I realise that you were sent to shape my destiny. You gave me strength, Alex. You really did."

Kaeli sunk her cheek into a palm and leaned against Draco, a slight smile on her lips as she watched them. "If this gets any sweeter my teeth are going to rot."

"Now, Kaeli, where's the romantic in you?" he teased, wrapping a wing around her shoulders to pull her a little closer. "I think the same of you."

She blushed and glanced away, blinking when Draggin' calmly walked closer to the couple and hopped up to land on Erica's lap, nipping at her fingers to get her attention.

"There's something at the door," the cat announced, looking over at Kaeli when she rose to her feet and headed for the door, rumbling when Erica picked him up and deposited him on the couch before she followed her friend.

Taking a breath to steel herself, Kaeli unlatched the deadbolt and opened the door, glancing at the glowing runes before she looked out at an empty front yard. Alex's car looked like swiss cheese, but other than that things seemed normal, so why were the runes glowing? A slight tap on her shoulder made her glance at Erica, who pointed to something at her feet, and she arched an eyebrow as she followed her friend's pointing finger to the small black furred thing on the doorstep. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

The creature was barely a foot tall, covered in coarse black fur with small three fingered hands. It's eyes were red with black elliptical pupils, and she met that gaze with an air of exasperation as she folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

Looking embarrassed by the entire situation, the Critter turned, curled itself into a ball and rolled away into the darkness.

Shaking her head, Kaeli slammed the door shut, then walked back into the livingroom. "Considering how pitiful that was, I think things may be dying down, but I wouldn't count any surprises out until after midnight."

"Oh man," Erica sighed. "The place'll be _packed_ by then. We'll never get in!"

"Nice set of priorities there, 'Rica," Kaeli retorted with a smirk.

Alex sighed and rose a hand to massage his aching temple. "How can you two take this so lightly? The cat talks!"

Draggin' rolled his eyes. "The cat can also lick himself. Are you gonna be shocked at that too?"

"Don't make me flame you," Draco growled warningly, reaching out to take one of Kaeli's hands in his when she moved to sit next to him again.

The gesture was not lost on Alex. "Uh..." Blinking, he glanced at Erica, then looked back to the two on the floor, a little hesitant to say anything. "You two are... uh... together?"

Kaeli's gaze darkened. "Yeah. So what of it?"

"Geez, touchy much?" Erica grumbled as Alex muttered an apology and looked away from the icy glare the elf was giving him. "All he did was ask an innocent question. You don't have to bite his head off."

"Sure she did," Draggin' smirked. "See, since I was listening on the other side of the door, _I_ heard tham talkin' and--"

A low threatening growl rumbled out of Draco's throat. "If you finish that sentence, it will be the last thing you ever say," he snarled murderously, fangs bared.

Draggin' tugged at his collar nervously. "Yessir."

Alex stared at them for a moment, then wisely let the matter drop. "I don't wanna know."

"Pervert!" Kaeli yelled, grabbing an encyclopedia from the floor and making as if to throw it at him, sulking when Draco wrestled the book from her. Grumbling, she shifted to sit lotus-style and sunk her chin into her hands.

"_Anyway_," Erica said forcefully. "At this rate it's obvious that we're not going to survive the next four hours with each other, so why don't we head to the club?"

"You expect me to go out there with the psycho horse going after my car?" Alex yelped.

"It's gone now," Erica told him gently. "And besides, Kaeli's coming with us."

"She is?"

"Erica asked me to go with you," the elf muttered, running her hands through her hair before she fell back and leaned against Draco's shoulder. "I'll be your bodyguard for the night."

"There's a scary thought," Draggin' mumbled, falling silent at the glares that Erica and Draco sent his way. Kaeli grumbled at the comment and turned her head to bury her face against Draco's neck, muttering out her opinion that the dragon really should eat the cat.

A long drawn out sigh escaped Alex's lips as he looked over at the two on the floor, noting that they really did seem at ease with each other, sharing a closeness that he himself shared with Erica. "You sure you want to come with us?" he asked curiously. "You can stay here."

"No. I'm not chancing anything getting to, Erica," she answered. "Since she won't tell you, I will. She's being hunted by someone. We don't know who, but they've sent demons to try to kill her."

"_What!_ Erica! Why the hell didn't you _tell me?_"

The redhead sent a glare at Kaeli, then turned to look at him. "I didn't want to drag you into this, that's why! I don't want you getting hurt."

"Oh, but it's okay if _you_ get hurt? What kind of warped logic is that!"

"Female logic," Draggin' smirked, ducking the smack that Erica aimed at him, but not the thrown pillow that Alex lobbed at him.

"You stay out of this!" Alex growled to the cat before he turned back to Erica. "You can't expect me to just stand aside if someone's after you! Do you know what it'll do to me if I find out you got hurt when I could have done something to protect you!"

"But you can't protect me! Not from this! What are you gonna do, get an unlicenced gun and shoot the demons?"

His eyes were deadly serious. "If I have to."

"Oh, I like him," Kaeli chuckled, eliciting an agreeing rumble from the dragon.

"You shut up," Erica snapped before she turned back to her boyfriend. "Look, I love you, I don't want to see you get mauled by a demon!"

"And I don't want you to get killed by whoever it is that's after you!" Alex countered. "Stalemate, love. Whatcha gonna do?"

Erica stared at him, then sighed heavily and folded her arms over her chest. "_Fine._ You want in, then you're in. Welcome to the club. Now shut up, we're going dancing."

"We're a nice happy dysfunctional group," Kaeli grinned, showing her fangs and winking at Alex, chuckling when he paled. "First rule, when I say run, run. I'll make up the rest of the rules as I go."

He nodded. "Fair enough. And... y'know, I didn't mean anything before."

Draco chuckled and stretched his wings a little. "We know. Kaeli's just a little defensive," he smiled, chuckling at the derisive snort that came from the elf. "She's never felt the need to avoid saying what needs to be said simply because of bad manners. It's part of her charm."

"...right."

"Anyway," Kaeli said cheerfully as she hopped to her feet and then stretched. "Let's get going. There's a lull in the demons and I want to get this over with. The sooner we leave the sooner I can start drinking."

"Oh, there's an intelligent statement," Draggin' sniffed, licking at his claws.

"Erica's right," the elf growled. "You were more likable when you didn't talk."

"Bite me."

"You. Shut up," Erica said to the cat. "Go hack up a hairball or something. And if I come back and find out that you annoyed Draco all night I'm shaving you and selling you to Mrs. Lambert!"

Light green eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't!"

Grinning, Erica planted her hands on her hips and chuckled evilly. "Try me."

"You think Draco's okay?" Kaeli yelled to Erica over the beat of the music, wincing a little at how loud everything was.

"He'll be fine! lighten up!" With that, she pushed her empty glass into the elf's hands and twirled away to press up against a grinning Alex, playfully grinding against him as they moved to the music, the wild, thrumming notes thudding in time to her heartbeat as she danced, laughing happily.

Wary, Kaeli made her way off the dance floor, dodging groping hands as she moved to the bar and ordered herself a drink, turning to lean back against the counter as she watched the dancers. In truth, the music was calling to her, but she was fighting it, feeling a little awkward amongst so many people. Instead, she chose to watch, a small smile gracing her lips as she gazed at Erica and Alex as they moved in time with the beat, the two of them nearly crossing the line between dancing and foreplay.

Seeing that, she turned her gaze to the ceiling high screen, watching the music video that played across it as she sipped at her drink, playing with the little umbrella that had come along with it. There was a lot of vodka in this drink, she noted as her thoughts became a little fuzzed. The ale back in her time was much weaker than this stuff, and it showed.

Rather mellow now, she flipped her hair over a shoulder and turned her gaze out over the dancers again, the various lights that adorned the upper catwalks flashing in an almost hypnotic rhythm, adding to the beat of the music. The bass had been turned low, making the floor rumble in time with the song, and she smirked as she downed the rest of the drink and threw caution to the four winds, letting the thrum of the music meld with her heartbeat as she went to join her friends, grinning at Erica's hyper laugh as they danced, letting the beat lift their spirits and enchant their minds.

The song changed then, and she rose her hands above her head as she moved her hips, her hair wild as she let the beat take over, joining with her heartbeat until it seemed like the song was just an extension of herself. Alex put his arms around her from behind as she laughed breathlessly as she turned in his arms and rose on her toes to kiss him, nipping at his lower lip playfully before she pulled away again, loosing a wild yell as the elf shook her hair out and tilted her face towards the ceiling, grinning widely.

Singing along, Erica grabbed Kaeli and swung her around, glad to see that the elf was lightening up as they danced. She smelled something sweet on her friend's breath, and guessed that the elf had helped herself to the bar, not that she objected, she had already had a few drinks, as had Alex. Tonight was about having fun, and nothing, not even the demons, was going to stand in her way.

TBC


	13. Morning After

As it was, they did have a good evening, and as a whole, nothing did ruin Erica's evening. Erica's _morning_ however, was not turning out to be the most peaceful, or painless, occasion she had hoped for.

They staggered through the door at an hour past dawn, tired, bedraggled and hungover. It was all she could do to gesture to Draco not to speak as she shuffled towards the diningroom with Alex and Kaeli in tow, trusting one of them to make sure the front door was closed as she slowly pulled out a chair and collapsed onto it, a low tired, painfulled groan leaving her as she leaned forward and rested her forehead on the table.

"I'm hungover." Never let it be known that she wasn't one to state the obvious.

Groaning in a sort of agreement, Alex moved to sit beside her and sagged back in the chair, his head lolling to the side as he stared at the wall behind Kaeli, who was moving with the air of someone who has a huge migraine.

"Well," Draco rumbled, shaking his head when Kaeli tried to wave at him to be quiet. "You certainly smell horrible."

"Shhh," Kaeli whispered, sluring a bit as she spoke, her voice partially muffled since she was holding her head in her hands. "Be _very_ quiet... shh..."

A thin moan left Alex's lips as he tried to sit up straight, then quickly gave up, slumping back and tilting his head back to rest it on the chair, his eyes sliding partially closed. "Oooh, as God as my witness, I will _never_ drink again."

"Thats my line," Kaeli mumbled, stretching her hands out across the table as she slowly lowered her head and lay her forehead against the polished tabletop, closing her eyes when Draggin' leapt up onto the table and looked at them.

"How pitiful," he muttered, a definate tone of amusement in his voice. "Well, I supposed there's only one thing to do." Grinning like the Chesire cat, he cleared his throat, then yelled. "_Wake up you lazy maggots!_"

Growling, Draco grabbed the cat in a claw and forceably shoved it in the direction of the livingroom, turning to look at the three people who were all clutching at their heads. "All I can say is that I hope you didn't do half of what I smell on you," he murmured as he walked over to Kaeli and placed a claw on her back, feeling the gentle rise and fall as she breathed. "I thought you said you weren't going to get drunk again."

"I'said I wouldn't ged drunk on ale," she moaned. "I was drinking vodka... and tequila..."

"Lots of tequila," Erica whispered. "And I vaguely remember a worm."

"Oh God," Alex groaned. "I hope I wasn't the one who drank it."

Erica clutched at her stomach, then clamped a hand over her mouth. "I have to throw up."

Draco quickly moved out of her way as she lurched from the table, watching her stagger towards the bathroom on the main floor for a moment before he turned his attention back to Kaeli, who looked as if breathing was causing her pain. He considered himself lucky that pain and discomfort such as this wasn't shared through the heart. Judging by how she looked, he imagined that it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

"Ten bucks says she got the worm," Kaeli muttered.

Alex smirked lopsidedly. "Deal."

Shaking his head, Draco gently stroked Kaeli's back, trying to coax her to sit up. "Come on, dearheart, I'll help you upstairs. Then you can shower and lie down for a while, hmm?"

"Don't wanna move," she whispered, clutching at her head.

Alex sighed heavily and used the chair as a crutch as he pushed himself to his feet, swaying dangerously. "M'gonna go check on 'Rica," he stated as he staggered towards the bathroom, raising a hand to his head as if he was afraid it was going to fall off.

Draco watched the human stagger away, then turned back to his Rider. "You do realise that this is only the start of the hangover, yes?"

"Yes," she mumbled morosely, shifting a little so she could clutch at her head. "I forgot how strong the drinks in this time are... Oh, my head... I need a shower."

"The shower's upstairs," he informed her, trying very hard to hide his amusement when she groaned. Slowly, she placed her hands flat on the table and pushed herself to her feet, and he quickly reached out to catch her before she fell, spreading his wings wide to balance himself as he caught her around her waist. "Okay, take it easy, I've got you."

"The walls're movin'," she muttered as her knees gave out, eliciting a gasp of surprise from Draco as he scrambled to keep her upright. Trying not to make a complete idiot of herself, she managed to get her bearings and forced herself to her feet, leaning on the dragon for support as a stab of pain lanced through her head. "I need to sit down."

"No you don't. You need to get upstairs," Draco told her, dropping back down to four feet before he crouched and hefted her onto his back, feeling her arms loosely curl around his neck as he carried her across the livingroom and up the stairs, wondering why people did this to themselves. Her arms went limp around him seconds later, and he sighed as he glanced back to discover that she had passed out, a grumble of disgust leaving him when he got a wiff of her breath. Lords but she smelled horrible. He had half a mind to get Erica to tell him how the shower worked so he could go dump her in there.

Sighing, he walked into their shared room and carefully set her down on the mattress, taking a moment to free her from her boots and jacket before looking down at her. Even in a state such as this, she was still pretty, and he smiled at her fondly before he tucked a blanket over her and left the room. He had a feeling that as the only one in the house that wasn't hungover, that his services would be needed, something that was proven when he saw Alex asleep on the stairs, the man having obviously failed his half-hearted attempt to climb the stairs in order to reach a bed.

This, was going to be a long day.

It was just a few minutes after noon when he heard movement from one of the rooms, and he rose his head from where he was lying in the hallway to look at Erica as she staggered out of her room. It had been just a few hours ago when he had taken it upon himself to get her and her boyfriend into bed instead of letting them lie wherever they had collapsed. The poor thing looked terrible, and he uttered a soft rumble of concern when she shuffled past him, trying hard not to let the disgust at her current scent show as she spared him a glance, then went into the bathroom, slamming the door in his face. He would have been offended had he not heard the curse of pain from within, the sound telling him that the headache caused by her hangover was still rather severe.

Sighing, he peeked into her room, watching as Alex rolled onto his stomach and, with a low moan of pain, dragged a pillow over his head. Shaking his head, he turned and padded into his own room to check on Kaeli, smothering a chuckle when he saw her curled up into a ball with the blanket over her head to block out the light from the window. He smiled at the sight, then moved around her, stretching a wing out to cast a shadow over her as he lay down besider her, reaching out with a claw to pry the blanket off of her, chuckling when she merely clutched tighter to the material.

Purring at her, he ducked his head and nuzzled the nape of her neck, exhaling warm breath into her hair, the gesture drawing a sleepy mumble from her as she lay there a moment longer, then rose a hand to rub at her eyes. Her voice when she spoke was thick with exhasution and pain, and he gently stroked a claw down her bare arm, sighing when she cursed under her breath and clutched at her head.

"Oh Gods, what time is it?"

"A little past noon," he told her, keeping his voice low for her benefit. "Erica just woke up too. She's in the bathroom."

"Ugh. I need a shower."

"And a change of clothes," he added, shrugging when she looked at him. "You don't want to know what you smell like."

"No, probably not," she muttered in agreement, wincing as her headache began pounding in time with her heartbeat. With a groan, she used Draco's shoulder as support and pushed herself to her feet, tugging her shirt back into place as she staggered out the door, the dragon a worried presence at her back as he followed her. Yawning tiredly, she sagged against the bathroom door and rose a hand to knock on it, sighing at the annoyed grumble from within. "Erica? 'Rica, c'mon, I need the shower."

When no answer came, she knocked again, then yelped when the door was suddenly opened, feeling Draco grab hold of her belts to keep her upright as the door that she had been leaning on moved out from under her. "Uh, thanks," she muttered, blinking at the dirty look that her friend gave her as the redhead stepped around her and headed downstairs. "Boy, she's pissed."

Draco heaved a long suffering sigh. "I'll go talk to her," he announced as Kaeli straightened and glanced at him. "You go get cleaned up. I'll go brave the storm."

"Good luck," she smirked as she headed into the bathroom. "Get her to make some coffee."

He looked from the closed door to the stairs, another sigh leaving him as he shook his head. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm acting as a sacrificial goat?"

"'Cuz y'are," Alex muttered as he walked into the hallway. "I love Erica an all that, but there's nothin' on this planet that'll make me go down there." He went to open the bathroom door and found that it was locked when he tried to twist the knob and walked right into the frame. "Ow."

"Kaeli's in there," Draco told him.

"You could have told me that before!" Alex groused as he rubbed at his nose. Sighing, he glanced from the door to the stairs, and back again. "I'll just wait for Kaeli to finish up."

The dragon arched an eyeridge. "Erica can't be that bad."

"Oh, yes she can. You don't believe me, fine. It's your hide. I'm going back to bed."

Certain that Alex was exagerating, Draco quietly descended the stairs, eyeing the cat that was sprawled across the sidetable before heading into the kitchen. "Erica?" he called softly, eyes widening when she stomped past him and threw the fridge door open. "Uh... are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_," she muttered as she grabbed a bottle of V8 and then went to look for some painkillers, turning to look at him when he merely sat back on his haunches and looked at her. "I'm sorry. I have a headache. I didn't mean to snap at you. You want something to eat?"

Despite himself, his stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and he gave her a sheepish smile when she smirked and rolled her eyes. "If it isn't too much trouble."

"For you, Draco," she smiled, "no problem."

Kaeli sighed happily as she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself before she snatched a hair towel off the rack, drying out her locks before picking up a hairbrush and running it through her coppery locks. Draco had been right, the shower had helped clear her head. The headache was still there, but at least things weren't so fuzzy anymore, and a quick brush of her teeth got rid of the taste of dry ashes in her mouth.

Holding the towel to herself, she opened the door and went into her room, nudging the door closed behind her before she went through the clothes Erica had lent her and changed into clean underclothes, a pair of shorts and a grey tank-top, smiling as she stretched stiff muscles. The scent of coffee caught her attention then, and she did a quick braid of her hair before heading out, catching a glimpse of Alex still stretched out across Erica's bed as she went downstairs, following her nose when she smelled fresh bacon.

She walked into the kitchen with the notion that everything, despite her headache, was going to be alright. What she ended up with, however, was something completely different.

"Erica?" she frowned, seeing the empty frying pan on the stove while her friend stood near the open patio doors, the redhead biting her nails nervously. "What's going on?"

Brown eyes widened in mixed relief and fear upon seeing her. "Kaeli! Um... hi!"

"Erica," she repeated, as the faintest pain in her stomach began to take hold. "Where's Draco?"

Her friend smiled anxiously. "Um, he's outside... throwing up."

"_What!_"

"Well, he was hungry, and I didn't know what to give him so I just made breakfast, y'know? But I didn't think he'd get sick, Kaeli, honest!"

"Well what the hell did you feed him!"

Erica looked away. "Four packs of bacon and two dozen eggs. He said he was hungry!"

"Are you insane! Of course he's gonna puke if you give him that!"

"But you said he could eat anything!"

"Yes. Normal food! Not five pounds of grease and fat!"

Draggin' poked his head into the room. "What's going on?"

"Erica's trying to kill my dragon!" Kaeli cried, starting for the door and pausing in mid-step when a woozy Draco staggered in. "Oh lords, are you alright!"

"I think I have to lie down," he whispered as he wobbled towards the livingroom.

Giving Erica a dirty look, Kaeli rushed to pour some fresh water into a salad bowl, carrying it over to the dragon that was sprawled out on the livingroom floor. "Here, drink a bit. It's not too cold, it'll help calm your stomach."

He rumbled weakly and dipped his muzzle into the cool water, lapping at the liquid as he drank his fill, then licked the few droplets from his lips, closing his eyes when Kaeli lightly ran her fingers over his cheek. "Kaeli ...what's wrong with me?"

She winced. "Remember that pig you stole from the swamplands a few months ago?" When he grimaced in mixed embarrassment and disgust, she sighed and stroked his forehead, trying to calm him. "Well, what you just ate basically amounts to two of those things."

He let out a low groan and lowered his head to the floor, clenching his eyes shut when a stab of pain lanced through his stomach. He remembered eating that damned pig, and he remembered being sick for a day afterwards. Kaeli hadn't been able to do much in the way of comforting him except keep him company as his body purged itself, and like before, she seemed more than willing to stay by his side again.

With a sigh, he shifted and lay his head in her lap, rumbling softly when her fingers played across his forehead. Her scent was back to normal, and he reveled in it, letting her closeness calm him, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when she hummed a soft bit of song to him. It was something she rarely did in front of anyone else. He had found out that she could sing quite by accident, having snuck up on her one time while they were traveling. But she was terribly shy about it, something that was wholey contrast to her usual attitude towards things. It was one of the little secrets they shared only with each other, one that he tresured deeply. One that he was quite possessive about. "Don't."

She blinked. "Don't what?"

"They'll hear," he murmured, cracking an eye open to look up at her.

She frowned at him for a moment longer before chuckling. "You _are_ possessive, aren't you?"

He smiled and curled his tail around to rest the flat of it against her back. "Only about you."

The compliment brought a blush to her cheeks, and she hid a smile as she scratched his eyeridges, eliciting a soft, tired purr from him. A footstep drew her gaze upwards, and she looked up at Erica, who forced a smile as she dropped to her knees next to them, a white packet in her hands. "What's that?"

"Gravol," the redhead answered, holding the package out to Kaeli, who took it and flipped it over to read the instructions. "I thought it would help."

"It might," Kaeli murmured as she finished reading the back of it and turned it over again, casting a look down to Draco, who was watching them quietly. "Your call. It'll help calm your stomach though."

He glanced at an apologetic-looking Erica, then sighed and shrugged. "I'll try it."

"Okay." Kaeli fought with the packaging for a moment then managed to free the individually packaged pills, popping two of them free from the foil. "I'll give you two, since you're a lot bigger than a human. You might be able to swallow them down without having to chew them."

He oblidgingly opened his mouth, then swallowed when he felt the two pills hit his tongue, turning to drink some more water from the nearby bowl. "How long before they take effect?"

"About twenty minutes, or so this says," Kaeli replied as she read the back of the package again. "Hell, I should bring some of these back with us. It'll be a Godsend the next time I have to eat Kara's cooking."

A chuckle rumbled out of the dragon at that. "You might be able to convince Bowen to buy some from you."

"Heh. Good idea."

"I really am sorry, Draco," Erica said softly, meeting the dragons gaze when he looked over at her. "I didn't mean to make you sick."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Dragons heal quickly. I'll be alright in a few hours," he assured her, giving her a forgiving smile and smiling when she leaned forward and hugged him.

"Pity."

Kaeli turned at the mutter and gave Draggin' a deadly glare. "Shut. Up."

"I was just sayin' is all!"

"You should head upstairs," Erica suggested, glancing from the elf to the dragon. "The medicine might make you sleep."

"Alright," he sighed, gathering his strength and pushing himself to his feet, groaning at having to move. Still a little shakey, he carefully navigated his way up the stairs, Kaeli a worried presence at his back as he staggered into the hallway then gratefully went into his room, collapsing onto the mattress with a long drawn out sigh of relief. Kaeli was kneeling by his side moments later, and he purred at her as he lay his head on her lap, curling himself around her as she trailed her fingers across his eyeridges, the sensation soothing his nerves enough that he was able to ignore the pain in his stomach.

She frowned at him in deep concern as he rested against her, hating how she was unable to help him. Sighing, she stroked her fingers across his crown of horns, then lightly caressed his snout, eliciting a low rumble from him as he wrapped a wing around her and nuzzled his head into her arms. Sending a wary glance at the still open door, she spent a moment looking around for a way to close it without having to get up, then merely grabbed a pillow and threw it, wincing when it slammed shut. "Not one of my more discreet moments but it'll do."

Draco barely managed to turn a chuckle into a cough, then met her gaze when she glared down at him. "What?"

She arched an eyebrow and flicked at one of the horns on his carapace. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Me? No, never," he smiled, raising his head from her lap to meet her less than impressed look. "Maybe a little."

"Uh huh. You're just lucky you're sick, else I'd leave you up here all by your lonesome."

"Then I appreciate your company, my dear," he purred, smiling when she laughed softly and caressed his cheek, the gesture making him lean against her a bit more. Slowly, he shifted himself so he was curled around her from behind, waiting for her to resettled herself before he rested his head on her shoulder, curling his forelegs around her to keep her close as he closed his eyes, brushing his cheek against hers. The medication she had given him was making him drowsy, and he rumbled softly as he leaned against her, inwardly cursing his stomach ache as it was the main reason that sleep stayed just out of reach.

Kaeli sighed softly as she lightly rested her hands over his, feeling him lightly play with her fingers as he turned his head to nuzzle her neck, exhaling warm breath against her skin. She could feel ghost pains in her stomach and silently hoped that the pills he had taken would work, hating to see him like this. Knowing that there was really only one way to truly calm and reassure him, she shoved her insecurities aside and started singing one of the songs she had heard on the radio, feeling him tighten his hold on her as he listened to the lyrics, words that she thought were very appropriate when one considered their past together.

Somewhere during the song her intention to calm him to the point of sleep worked out, for as the last note left her lips, the only answer she received was a low snore. Rolling her eyes, she gently wriggled out of his hold and lowered his head onto a pillow, hearing his soft mumble as he grasped at the pillow and nuzzled his face into it, another sort of purring snore leaving him as he settled himself. Smiling at him warmly, she leaned down to plant a soft kiss against his snout, then stood and silently crept out of the room, closing the door behind her.

__

I don't think that I can tell you what this means to me

But here I am so hard to believe

That I'm standing here, that I've come this far

But you always said, "Have faith in who you are"

I wanna take this time to thank you for the love you gave

And from this moment, you've got to know

I've never wanted something more

And I never felt so sure

Cause now I've got this chance to be

Everything you saw in me and even more

Than I ever dreamed before

As long as you are here with me

I know that I can be something more

Looking back now it's so clear to me

That you were sent to shape my destiny

Cause there were times when I was ready to walk away

But you gave me strength to face another day

I wanna take this time to thank you for the love you gave

And from this moment you've got to know

I never wanted something more

And I never felt so sure

Cause now I got this chance to be

Everything you saw in me and even more

Than I ever dreamed before

As long as you are here with me

I know that I can be something more

I'm reaching for the sky

Won't let this chance to go by

I've waited all my life for something more

Now's the time you're all gonna see

From this moment you're gonna know

I never wanted something more

And I've never felt so sure

Cause now I've got this chance to be everything you saw in me

And even more than I ever dreamed before

As long as you are here with me

I know that I can be something more

You make me wanna be something more

- Ryan Malcolm "Something More"

TBC


	14. Strange Family

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Draco, though I wish I did.

"You sure he's alright?" Erica asked as she looked over at Kaeli, who was quietly munching on her toast. "He's been asleep for over an hour."

"He's fine," Alex told her reassuringly. "If he wasn't, you think Kaeli'd be so calm? Take it easy, Erica."

"But I made him sick!"

Kaeli sighed and shook her head. "'Rica, quit worryin' about it. He'll just sleep it off. He's done this before." She took a sip of her orange juice and smiled. "He got sick after he stole a pig from one of the farmers near the swamps a few months ago. Did the same thing then that he did today. He'll be fine."

Erica tore off little strips of her napkin, then stopped when Alex rested a hand on top of hers, stilling her nervousness.

"Hun, don't make me resort to drastic measures to get you to smile," he teased her lightly, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Everything's okay."

She sighed and nodded. Truthfully, making Draco sick had frightened her a little. She had forgotten that he wasn't used to eating such foods, and being half asleep at the time, cooking four packages of bacon had seemed like a good idea. Looking back on it however, she had to wonder if her hangover hadn't depleted her of some vital brain cells. The cholesterol alone could have killed him.

"Erica." Kaeli frowned and shook a piece of toast at her. "I know that look. Quit it. It isn't your fault, understand? Don't make me sic your boyfriend on you."

"Oh thanks. Makes me sound like a raving lunatic," Alex grumbled with a smirk. "But I suppose I'll put up with it. For Erica's sake and all that."

"Of course," Kaeli smiled, playing along. She was about to take another bite out of her toast when the sound of a loud rumbling motor caught her attention, making her twist in her chair to look towards the front yard. As the doorbell rang, she rose to answer it, Alex and Erica hanging back to see who it would be. They had already agreed that she would answer the door in order to keep Erica safe. After all, if anyone could handle a demon at the moment, it was her. Granted, did demons ring doorbells?

But as it turned out, it wasn't a demon on the other side of the door. Instead, she looked upon a twenty-something year old male with short firey red hair that had a streak of purple in it. Bright blue eyes looked her up and down as if she was a slab of meat to be bought, and she bit her lip in order to keep herself from smacking him upside the head. He wore black jeans with worn out black cowboy boots, an old black leather vest over a paint spotted blue tee shirt. A joint was tucked behind his left ear, and she kept a hand on the doorjamb while she put her other hand on her hip, her right eyebrow quirking upwards when she spotted the motorbike behind him. "Yeah?"

"Yo, babe. Niiice," he grinned, giving her another once over as he did so before he tried to peer around her. "My sis here?"

"Uhh..." She had always known that Erica had a brother, but she'd never met him. Certainly _this..._ "Um, 'Rica? Is this, uh, yours?"

Erica exchanged curious glances with Alex before she peered around the kitchen wall. "Oh lords," she muttered as she walked forward. "It's okay, Kaeli. It's just Chris."

Her left eyebrow arching upwards to join her right one, she obediantly stepped aside, watching the runes closely as Chris stepped into the house, a smile spreading over his lips as he walked over to Erica and swept her up in a hug. "You gonna do the intros Erica?"

"Oh, right. Chris, this is Kaeli. Kaeli, this is my younger brother."

"That, is your brother!"

"That?" Chris echoed. "I'm a 'that'?"

"Better a 'that', then an 'it'," Alex smirked as he walked over and exchanged high-fives with the other male. "How's it goin?"

Chris shrugged and transferred the joint from behind his ear to his lips, ignoring Erica's glare as he lit it. "Goin' good. Hey sis, I got more artwork for yer store."

"He's an artist," Erica explained to Kaeli. "His stuff's really good, so I sell it in the store. Sometimes I get them made into cards and things." At the elf's doubtful look, she glanced at Chris, then back to her friend. "Really. He's okay."

Shrugging, Kaeli nudged the front door shut, then folded her arms over her chest, raising a hand to her mouth when a lungful of the pot made her cough. "Must you smoke that inside?"

"Brings out my artistic talent, babe," Chris said with a suggestive wink before he hefted the bag of rolled up canvas' and headed into the dining room, unaware that Erica had moved to keep the elf from throttling him.

"He's family," Erica reminded her.

"Ain't _my_ family," Kaeli muttered sourly, waving a hand in front of her face in an attempt to clear the air. "You sure he's related to you? Neither of your folks have blue eyes."

"Oh, those are just his contacts. He likes to make a statement."

Kaeli's voice was dry. "Do tell."

"Suck it up," Erica smirked as she grabbed the elf's arm and pulled her into the dining room, where Alex and Chris were talking about what they had done for Halloween.

"Aw, you guys went to that new dance club? Damn, you shoulda told me! I was across town with my buddies looking for a place to go!"

Very aware of the opening that Chris had just given Kaeli should the elf feel like being nasty, Alex calmly reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth, smiling at her innocently when she glared at him. He wasn't smiling seconds later when she bit him, and he winced when it became very clear how real those fangs of hers were. "You're not rabid, are you?"

Kaeli smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Hey nice!" Grinning, Chris walked over to her and pried her mouth open, pinging a nail against her fangs. "Didja get them filed down?"

Erica pulled him away before Kaeli hurt him, vaguely aware that Alex was scrubbing his hand clean at the kitchen sink. "Yeah, she did. So, you said you had new stuff for me, can we see?"

"Sure thing! C'mere," he smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders, steering her over to the dining room table as he took a drag of his joint, then sighed happily. "I had a bought of inspiration last week. Managed to belt out six new ones on top of the seven you ordered. So I guess you get your pick of them this time."

"That's great! Hey, Kaeli, come see." Grinning, Erica picked up one of the canvas' and unrolled it, hearing the elf's surprised gasp when she unravelled the intricate design of celtic knots and weavings. "Wow. Oh, Chris, you outdid yourself! This is beautiful!"

"Okay, I have to admit it, that's really nice," Kaeli admitted grudgingly, making a face when Chris walked over to her and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"See? You gotta see the entire package before you judge," he smiled, eyes dancing. Seconds later he had released her and gone to rummage around in the fridge. "Got any munchies?"

Kaeli sighed and rose a hand to her forehead in an exasperated smack, glancing up at Alex when he moved to stand by her side.

"Having trouble believing that he's her brother, hmm? Believe me, I go through the exact same thing everytime I see him," he chuckled, glancing over at the other male as Chris came up out of the fridge with a container of cold chinese rice. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to the elf. "Um, how deeply is Draco sleeping?"

She reached out through the bond and frowned. "Not deeply. He's starting to wake up."

"Can you warn him not to come down?"

"He hasn't taught me how to talk through the link yet," she whispered back, blinking when Chris strolled past her to peer over Erica's shoulder while her friend unrolled another drawing. Curious, she stepped forward and admired another of the celtic drawings, each line intricately coloured with what seemed to be a sort of watercolour paint. She kept watching out of sheer curiousity as Erica moved to unroll a third, the two of them exchanging baffled looks at the oddness of it.

"Uh, it's..."

"Unique," Kaeli finished for her, tilting her head to either side to try to make sense of it.

"No, no," Chris mumbled around a forkful of rice as he set the container down and reached out to take the canvas out of Erica's hands, turning it ninety degrees to the right. "It goes like this."

Alex burst out laughing while Erica blushed. "Oh my..."

Kaeli stammered for a bit before finding her voice. "Ye Gods!" She stared a moment longer, then cocked her head to the side. "Can people twist like that!"

"Twist like what?"

"Ack!" Startled, Erica scrunched the picture closed as she and Kaeli spun to stare at Draco in mixed surprise and embarrassment, as if they had been children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Chris took a last drag of his joint, eyebrow raised. "Is that a _dragon?_"

"No! No..." Alex moved to try to block Chris' view of Draco and stammered. "He's... a dog! From... _Germany!_ Yeah! You know, they grow them big over there!"

"Excuse-- mpft!" Draco glared at Kaeli as she clamped his jaws shut and tried to get out of her hold, pausing when she shot him a frantic look and shook her head. He sensed a wave of panic/anxiety from her and craned his neck to peer at the red haired male who was staring at him curiously, blinking when Erica moved to block his view.

"Yeah," Erica added, joining in on the rampant excuse that Alex had started. "He's a rescue dog. No one would take him in, cuz of his _skin condition_ and all."

Chris tilted his head to the side, then lit another joint. "It does look kinda messed up."

Kaeli grimaced as Draco fairly lifted her off her feet in his anger and scrambled to keep from being knocked over. "He's having a bad day," she said, forcing a smile as she planted her bare feet on the tile and heaved, dragging Draco out of the kitchen. "Shh. Shh! Dammit, Draco, hold still!"

He wriggled his head free of her arms and growled. "I am not a _dog!_"

"Well what else was he going to come up with! 'Hi, this is my thousand pound mutated lizard'!"

He glared.

"Alright, alright. I'm _sorry._ But we didn't know what to say!" she whispered, glancing back in the direction of the others. "Chris is Erica's brother. He just showed up, we didn't have time to warn you."

A sigh left him at that, and he relaxed in her hold. "Alright. I'll head back upstairs and--" Chris came into his line of sight, and he cut himself off with a snap of teeth, moving to stand behind Kaeli as he watched this new acquaintence.

"Y'know, it really doesn't look like a dog," Chris mused.

"How can _you_ tell?" Draggin' snorted from where he was sprawled on the couch. "You're so doped up that you'd think a piece of crap was a bouquet of roses."

"Whoa! The cat talks!" As Erica and Alex cringed, he pulled the joint out from between his lips, looked from it to the cat and back again, then laughed. "Man, this is some good stuff! So sis, do you want those pics or not?"

Kaeli gaped at him as he turned and headed back into the dining room, then exchanged looks with Draco and Draggin' before sighing in relief and leaning against closest wall, smirking when she heard two identical sighs of relief from Erica and Alex. "Erica, do me a favor, please get rid of him."

"I'll love you forever if you kick him out just this once," Alex added with a loving smile, chuckling when she rolled her eyes and headed back into the dining room. Grinning, he looked over at Kaeli and winked. "We'll see what that gets us."

"My guess," Draggin' smirked. "Not too damn much."

"You be quiet," Kaeli snarled. "You nearly gave everything away. You want to be put in some lab or something, fine, but don't you endanger me and mine, understand?"

Draco blinked at the fierce protectiveness in her voice, then smiled and curled his tail around her, remembering the song that she had sung to him earlier. It had been more than a mere song. He had sung some of the same kind to her, but always in the language of dragons, afraid that she wouldn't understand or want to return such feelings. And it brought into stark fact that they really needed to talk more, this keeping of secrets wasn't good for either of them, especially not with this tentative relationship that they were building.

As the cat looked away, she sighed and went into the kitchen, looking into the adjoining dining room as Erica finished writing a cheque for the paintings, a part of her wondering if her friend had actually finished looking at all of them. True to what she and Alex had asked, Erica did a good job of getting rid of Chris in a timely fashion, even going as far as to give him the two bags of Doritos that she had just bought the day before as she propelled him past Draco and out the door.

Even though it was rude, they all shared a sigh of relief once he was out of the house, and Kaeli loosed a short nervous laugh as she sagged against the kitchen counter, raising a hand to push her long bangs out of her eyes. "Let's never do that again."

"Agreed," Draco rumbled, sending an annoyed look at Alex, who shrugged. "A dog with a skin condition? That was the best you could come up with?"

"Sorry. I don't work well when I'm put on the spot."

"Hmpft."

Erica leaned against the closed front door for a moment, then started giggling uncontrollably, sliding down the door until she was sitting on the floor, clutching her sides as she laughed hyserically, barely managing to gasp out the explaination for her apparant breakdown in between chuckles. "A dog with a skin condition! Germany!"

Kaeli's lips twisted as she tried to keep herself from laughing, clamping a hand over her mouth as she ducked behind the dining room wall to escape Draco's glare, hysterical laughter leaving her as she held onto a chair to keep her balance, unable to stop even when Draco walked into her line of sight and gave her a look. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, hiccuping for breath. "But it's so ridiculous... and it _worked!_"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Women. You're all nuts."


	15. Tales and Taunts

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Draco, though I wish I did.

It was well over an hour later - when Kaeli and Erica could stand to look at Draco and not break into endless giggles - that they turned their attentions onto more important matters, specifically the demons and Erica's potential stalker.

"How many times have you been attacked?" Alex asked from where he sat beside a now rather silent Erica, who had a purring Draggin' in her lap while Kaeli and Draco took up the floor, the elf sitting lotus style with her elbows resting on her thighs.

When Erica didn't say anything, Kaeli did. "Twice. The stuff on Halloween wasn't meant as a direct attack. It was meant to shake us up."

"Considering the state of my car I think they succeeded," Alex grumbled, eyes widening a little when Kaeli shrugged. "What? All that stuff last night didn't phase you?"

"Not really. I was expecting it." She paused for a moment, then frowned. "And so was Erica."

He looked over at the redhead and sighed, seeing that she was avoiding his gaze. "Okay. I can believe that. Now what's the deal with you and Draco? There's no way you two have been living around here without being spotted."

Draco exchanged glances with Kaeli, then nervously scratched at the back of his neck. "Um, that's a rather long story."

Alex looked at Erica, who shrugged, then turned back to the dragon. "Got a condensed version?"

"Sure," Kaeli chuckled. "We'll make it up as we go along. First off, highschool. Erica and I were friends. School sucked bigtime for me. I was freak girl, fangs, white hair, the whole deal. Foster parents either beat my ass or ignored me. 'Rica an I, we practiced wicca, a spell went haywire, sent us flying through dimensional time. We landed in Draco's time, met a psycho farmer and ran for our lives. Night passes, 'Rica freaks out over a bird, I don't get much sleep, we survive the first day. Second day, we end up at a waterfall, run into some pain in the arse dragonslayer, Bowen, who was after, big surprise, Draco. I sorta kinda kick his ass, Draco escapes, 'Rica and I go shopping for clothes and horses with the money I stole from the slayer. With me so far?"

While Alex fought back a smile and nodded, Draco frowned and turned to look at her. "You never told me you stole money from Bowen."

"Um..." She paused, glanced at him, then turned back to Alex, flustered. "_Anyway_, later on, we saw the slayer 'kill' Draco, and well..."

Erica snickered. "And Kaeli tackled Bowen off his horse and beat the crap out of him thinking that he had just murdered a dragon. Oh Gods, I can still see your face, Kaeli, when Draco showed up alive and well!"

"Oh shut up," Kaeli grumbled sourly, lightly whacking Draco on the shoulder when he chuckled. "You be quiet too! Damned comedians..." Shaking her head, she ignored the dragon's mirth and looked at Alex again. "After Erica dragged me off of, Bowen, Draco told us the whole story. Mainly that he and Bowen were actually a team, and were swindling towns. Basically, Draco mock attacks the village, and Bowen 'slays' him. Naturally, Bowen wasn't all that fond of us tagging along, but Draco had invited us, and since we still didn't have any clue as to where we were, we took up his invitation."

"It wasn't until a couple of days later that we met another friend. It was during another of Bowen and Draco's scams. But that time, instead of paying up in gold, the villagers offered up a maiden sacrifice." Erica paused at the disgusted look that passed over the dragon's face, then continued. "Her name was Kara, and she was being hunted by Einon, an evil little maggot that ended up causing us so much trouble."

Draco shifted uncomfortably, drawing his Rider's gaze. "It was my fault, in a way. When he was a boy, his mother, someone that I trusted, brought him to me. He had been seriously wounded in a village rebellion. She asked me to save him, and I, in my naievety, believed that by saving him, I could save my own brethren. So I gave him half my heart, literally. Both saving his life and ...tying his life to mine. I thought my heart could change him, turn him away from his father's dragonslaying ways... but I was wrong. In giving my heart, I took up every poison stirring in his blackened soul. My half of the heart holds the lifesource. In order for Einon to die, I would have to die as well, sacrificing my soul in the process..."

Seeing the disturbed expression on Kaeli's face, Erica stayed silent for a moment before continuing. "Einon was terrorizing the lands, killing, torturing and enslaving the people. And to add to that, he had shattered all of Bowen's beliefs. It wasn't until Draco reminded him of his Knight's Oath that he finally agreed to help Kara build an army. But there was a price to stopping Einon that Draco hadn't told us... And in the end, when he had been captured by Einon and lay chained in the courtyard, with Kaeli imprisoned up in the castle's tower..." She trailed off and went pale, shaking a little at the memory. "I tried to rescue her, but a guard ambushed us. Kaeli took a crossbow to the heart. I remember her dying in my arms, and I remember summoning any sort of power I could conjure in order to Heal her, but I blacked out. When I came to, it was a day later, and Draco told me that I had somehow summoned the spirit of one of the Great Dragons..."

"Even now, I'm amazed that the Wise One answered her Call," Draco rumbled. "He offered me a choice: death, and a place in the Dragon's Heaven, or life and the ressurection of Kaelianna. I chose life, and in answer, the Wise One removed the half of my heart that I had given to Einon, and trasferred it to Kaeli. I was afraid the trauma would kill her. Einon had polluted the heart with his darkness, and I wasn't sure if Kaeli had the strength to survive and purify the heart. But she did, despite the odds. And now she and I are Protectors of the Realm, helping the now King Bowen and Queen Kara keep peace over their lands."

"Damn," Alex breathed, tightening his arm around Erica's waist as she lay her head on his shoulder. "You've been hiding this part of your life all this time? What else have I missed out on?"

"That's about it," Kaeli answered for her friend. "Besides, the last time someone knew that we practiced Wicca, they made both our lives a living hell. I never really cared what people thought about me, but 'Rica had it pretty good. The few people who found out... It was bad." She paused and shrugged, the emotion draining from her voice. "Luckily I managed to turn their attention onto me, not that it was hard. I was already an outcast; a few more people trying to beat the living daylights out of me wasn't that big of a difference."

A low, protective rumble echoed out of Draco's chest as he curled his tail around the elf, and he had the good graces to look embarrassed when Erica snickered. "Oh, hush. I'm allowed to be protective."

"Hmpft." Completely uninterested in everything, Draggin' rolled onto his back where he still lay on Erica's lap. "Possessive is more like it."

Kaeli groaned and leaned back against the dragon. "Draco, are you _sure_ you won't flame the cat?"

_That_ brought Erica out of her silent brooding. "There will be no flaming of the cat! Besides, he'd just run around and set everything else in the house on fire too!"

"Damn straight I would. Those ugly curtains are going first."

Alex smiled a little as Erica shooed the cat off of her, glad that the mock arguement had brought back the fire in her eyes. "Alright, so, I know the backstory. Now, what are we going to do about the ugly ass demons?"

"I wish I knew," Kaeli sighed as she pushed herself away from Draco and stretched out on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling morosely. "I have no idea who's sending them, and I have no clue as to what spells they're using. All I can do is try to clean up the messes as they arrive and put up as many defenses as I can in the hopes that they'll be strong enough to protect us from whatever might pop out of the woodwork, but in the end, it won't do us any good."

"She's right. As strong as Draco and Kaeli are, and even with my own powers, holding our own isn't going to help. Eventually, whatever, or _whoever_ is sending these demons will wear us down." A determined look brightened her brown eyes as she looked at the ones who were such a huge part of her life. "We have to find a way to go on the offensive."

"If all else fails, we can use the cat as a diversion," Alex quipped, wincing as said cat sunk it's claws into his left leg. "Ow! Dammit, you'd better be up to date with your rabies shots!"

Draggin' hissed, tail like a pipe brush as he headed for a quiet, non-annoying corner of the kitchen. "Wouldn't you like to know. Asshole."

"Lovely. But seriously, it's hard to get into a fight when you have no clue who your opponent is," Kaeli murmured as she clasped her hands under her head and frowned. "The only thing I can do right now is put sheilds on, Alex. Other than that, I just don't know."

As Draco cast a worried look at the elf, Alex rose a hand and rubbed at the stubble that darkened his cheeks. "Well... what about the store? I mean, I've seen everything that 'Rica has, hell, I do the books at the end of each month. There's got to be _something_ there."

Suddenly Erica sat up straight and smacked herself in the forehead. "Oh _Gods!_ I'm an idiot!" Ignoring the baffled looks from her friends, she launched herself from the couch and moved to the bookcases, grabbing armfuls of books from the middle shelf and dumping them on the floor.

"Hey, ow!" Scowling, Kaeli rubbed at her head where a hardcover book had landed on her corner first and sat up, casting a bewildered look at her best-friend all the while keeping one hand on what she could only assume was a new dent in her skull. "What are you doing?"

"Sometimes, the store gets in some things that I just can't in good conscience sell. Mostly because it would be the highest level of stupidity to let them out into the general public where any yuppie could get ahold of them." Frowning in concentration, the ran her fingers along the back of the shelf, then hooked her nails into the hidden grooves and pulled out a portion of the bookcase. Behind it lay the small safe that Maeve had installed untold years past, and Erica smirked triumphantly as she unlocked the combination and swung the heavy door open.

Grinning, she gathered everything in the safe into her arms and returned to Alex's side, dumping the items on the coffee table. "Okay, four spellbooks, three talismans, one funky lookin' amulet - Alex don't touch that - and... Hm."

Kaeli's eyes widened. "Is that a _shrunken head!_"

"Not entirely sure," Erica replied with a smirk as she picked up two vials of what appeared to be herbs and inspected them. "I'm not sure what these are. It resembles Hemlock..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Warily, Alex glanced from Kaeli to Erica, flustered. "What else resembles a shrunken head?"

"Well, there's two things it could be. But there's a squick factor for you guys." Chuckling, she picked up said head and peered at it. "Y'see it's either a genuine shrunken head ...or a petrified bulls testicle made to look like a shrunken head."

Even Draco grimaced. "How do you know these things?"

She shrugged. "I read."

Unable to help herself, Kaeli's muffled snickers dissolved into mischivous chuckles, leaving her breathless and lying on the floor clutching her ribs as the glares from the two males only served to fuel her uncontrollable laughter.

"I'd smack you if I wasn't worried that Draco would rip my arm off," Alex muttered sourly, his personal sulk not aided by the barely muffled giggles coming from Erica. "You do wonders for my ego, sweetie."

"Sorry, sorry!" Gathering what little composure left to her, the redhead calmed herself as best she could, barely able to contain her laughter at the sight of the elf that was lying limp on the floor, alternating between hiccuping for breath and trying to muffle small fits of snickers. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, shit. My head hurts..."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Maybe we should take a break and come back to this in the morning," Erica suggested. "It's already turning dark outside, and I'm tired and hungry. Maybe things will go easier if we have a full stomach and a decent night's sleep."

Smiling, Draco curled a wing around the elf and tucked her against his side, his tail resting against her legs as he glanced at the two on the couch. "I think that's best. At the very least, giggles here will be calmer in the morning."

Kaeli thumped him on the shoulder. "Hey, you're supposed to be on my side!"

"I'm always on your side, little dreamer," he chastised her gently. "And right now, you need food and rest. As do we all."

"Well, I have to go out and buy supper then, because I really don't feel like cooking," Erica announced as she stood and ran her hands through her hair. "Who's coming with me?"

"I'll go," Kaeli volunteered as she wriggled out of Draco's hold and got to her feet. "Besides, I haven't put sheilds on Alex yet. He'd be safer staying here. You don't mind, do you, Draco?"

"Not as long as you bring me back something substantial," he rumbled, flicking his wings as he stood and stretched. "Red meat, if possible."

That made her frown. "Still not feeling well?"

"Nothing serious. I'd just rather have something basic."

"Steak it is," Erica grinned as she slid her arms into the coat that Alex was holding up for her. "C'mon, Kaeli! The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back here and eat!"

Alex gently turned her around and cupped her face in his hands. "You be careful. Okay, brighteyes?" When she nodded, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly, then rested his forehead against hers. "Promise?"

"Promise," she smiled, returning the quick kiss before pulling away and turning to Kaeli, who was already at the door, waiting patiently. "Onwards! Food awaits!"

Chuckling, Alex leaned against the doorway and watched as Erica dragged Kaeli towards her truck, then shoved the elf into the passenger side. He waited until they had backed out of the driveway before starting to close the door, only to pause when he saw his car.

What had looked like a metal monstrosity resembling swiss cheese only twelve hours earlier, now looked like a normal, non gored car, and he felt his jaw drop as he stared at his weathered silvery-grey Firebird. "Wha... How the hell?"

"It was an illusion," Draggin' muttered as he sauntered over to the human male and jumped up to perch on his shoulder, following his gaze out to the car. "It was a trap, in a sense. Had you gone out to try to protect that lump of machinery, you probably would have been killed by that demon. Demons do that. Trick the humans into believing a falsehood in order to get the job done."

Alex scooped the cat off his shoulders as he kicked the front door closed, then went to sit at the dining room table, setting Draggin' in front of him. "But Kaeli used a spell against it. If it was just an illusion, then why did that freaky unicorn thing--"

"Even elf-girl can't tell if it's illusion or reality," Draggin' interupted as he sat back on his haunches and curled his tail around his feet, the tip of it twitching slightly. "It's all a matter of intuition. Though sometimes, demons use their targets deepest fears against their prey, and that's harder for someone to fight."

Draco frowned at the information, a low rumble leaving him. "Can't illusions be broken as soon as they appear? Before they play out whatever the demon wishes?"

"Not always. Mainly because if it's a very skilled mage, then they can summon the powerful demons. And once a demon senses your worst fear, it physically assumes that fear." The cat paused and flicked his tail. "So if you're afraid of spiders, it'll turn into a spider. Be afraid of heights, and your surroundings will vanish and you'll find yourself standing on the edge of a skyscraper. It's not _real_, but it's so strong that most people can't tell the difference."

Taking a breath to calm his rising anxiety, Alex ran a hand through his short dark hair and steeled himself for the answer to his next question. "What else can we expect?"

"Well..." Draggin' held up a paw, this claw unsheathing in order with his answers. "They can attack through dreams, if the caster has something that belongs to it's target. Possession of a stranger or someone the target trusts in order to get close to said target and eliminate it. Possessions of objects, like a house, a car, or a tree. Poltergists, ghosts--"

"Stop! Stop..." Alex rose a shaking hand and covered his eyes, a shudder winding it's way up his spine. "Please, stop. That's enough."

The cat shrugged and resheathed his claws. "You asked."

Groaning, Alex clutched his head and lay his head on the table. "Oh man, I'm in way over my head."

Sending a nasty glare at the cat, Draco slowly stepped forward, scenting the distress from Alex. "Things won't get that... intense. Besides, we're taking as many precautions as we can. As long as Kaeli and I are able, we'll do everything in our power to protect both you and Erica."

"Oh, spare me the drama, lizard-breath," Draggin' hissed. "This isn't the mideval times! Your 'power' means nothing here. Even your elf-girl isn't prepared for what's going to come our way. In the end, she'll be more of a liability than anything else!"

"Don't assume that you know _anything_ about me or my Rider!" Draco growled, eyes blazing, talons of his forelegs digging into the hardwood floor. "You know nothing of my brethren, or of Kaelianna! How _dare you--_"

Seeing that things were about to go seriously wrong, Alex grabbed the cat and carried the now hissing, clawing, screeching mass of black fur over to the patio doors and shoved it outside, slamming the door closed afterwards. "Mouthy little bastard," he grumbled as he clutched at the numerous deep scratches on his hands and arms, cursing as he walked to the kitchen sink and turned on the cold water. "Now I'm gonna have to go the hospital and get a tetnus shot..."

Forcing himself to at least show a semblance of calm, Draco shook the tenseness out of his shoulders, then sighed and joined Alex in the kitchen, a low rumbling breath leaving him as he grabbed a towel off the handle of the oven and handed it to him. "Here. And thank you. I'm afraid I let my temper take over."

"Yeah well, if you hadn't strangled him, I would have," Alex muttered as he poured dish soap into his hands and scrubbed at the cuts he had along his hands and arms. "Ow, shit this stings. Hey, could you do me a favor and check to see if there's a red box with a white cross on it in the left cupboard over the fridge?"

Glad for the distraction, Draco reared up and spread his wings for balance as he stepped over to the fridge, mildly aware of Alex's shocked look as he tugged the small door open and closed his right foreclaw around his prize. When he turned to the human with the odd box in his claws, he paused in surprise, arching a brow ridge at his new friend's expression. "Um, you're bleeding on the counter."

"Huh? Shit! Erica's gonna kill me!" Panicked, after all, blood on a pristine white counter was _very_ noticable, Alex grabbed a wad of paper towels and used them to clean up the mess, very aware of the now noticably huge dragon that had walked over to him, seeming very much like a human since he was walking on his hind legs. "Sorry about that. I really didn't think you were that big!"

A rumbling chuckle was his answer. "I'm only at less than a quarter of my natural size," he boasted, unable to hold back another chuckle as he dropped back down onto all fours, warily eyeing a gouge in the ceiling from one of the blunt spikes on his carapace. Being careful not to knock a hole in the wall with his tail, he turned and ambled back to the living room, glad for the extra space the large room provided him. In such a delicate house, the last thing he wanted was to accidentally destroy parts of Erica's home.

Wanting to make light conversation, after all, Alex still seemed shaken up from Draggin's tactless speech, he settled himself down on the living room floor and rose his voice a little so that the human could hear him. "So, tell me, how did you meet the little Wiccan?"

"Little...? Oh, Erica?" Shrugging, Alex picked up the First Aid kit and went to sit on the couch, setting the kit on the coffee table. "Maeve introduced us. Did 'Rica tell you about her?"

"Kaeli did, actually."

"Ah. Anyway, I used to help Maeve with her finances. I'm actually going to college in order to get my full degree in..." He trailed off at the confused look on the dragon's face and smirked. "I helped her keep track of her money. How much she made, and how much she spent. With all the business the store gets, it was too much work for her to do alone. So she hired me. It's only part-time, but I needed a job. Anyway, Maeve was an old pro at playing matchmaker, so she introduced us and we just clicked. I'm not naive enough to believe in love at first sight, but we just felt... right, being together." He paused as he taped a peice of gauze to a nasty scratch on his arm, then risked a glance at the dragon. "So, what's this that Erica tells me about you an Kaeli being soul-mates?"


End file.
